THE redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh coupled with recent traffic issues leading into the city centre from Dunkettle has given fresh impetus for a new bridge linking Tivoli with The Marina.
An artist’s impression of The Eastern Gateway Bridge.
Minister for European Affairs and Cork North Central TD, Dara Murphy, said he was in agreement with those who said that such a bridge would significantly boost an area that had the potential to become one of Cork’s greatest commercial and community areas.
He said: “Both Tivoli and Marina Park have enormous potential. I have always felt that unlocking the potential for the city lay in looking at it from an East-West perspective rather than a Northside-Southside divide, which has traditionally been the case. That side of the city can be a real driver of growth long into the future.”
The so-called Eastern Gateway Bridge was first officially mooted in 2007 when Cork City Council formally applied to the Government for €60m funding for the project, committing to €20m itself toward the project. The plan involved the construction of a two-lane single swing bridge, with footpaths and cycle lanes, to link the Lower Glanmire Road with the eastern end of the Docklands, as well as an 80m ramped road on the Páirc Uí Chaoimh side.
In 2010, the then city manager Joe Gavin said: “The provision of the bridge, which is necessary to improve access to the Docklands, would boost confidence and be a catalyst for major development in the Docklands.” The financial crash of 2008 and the subsequent austerity years put paid to the plans at that time.
Proponents of the plan in the last decade insisted that the bridge was the key to the docklands and allowing 10,000 homes, offices, shops and recreational facilities to be built.
Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Joe Kavanagh, who lives near Tivoli, said such a bridge would not only boost economic and social development in two historic areas of the city, but would also help alleviate the traffic trouble spot from Silversprings into the city centre via Horgan’s Quay.
There have been times in recent weeks that traffic has come to a standstill during rush hour, with senior gardaí saying the sheer volume of traffic in recent years, as well as roadworks on bridges in the city, were contributory factors.
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