New Shannon bridge opening date plan is revealed

Athlone's most talked about transport infrastructure in years – the new cycleway bridge over the river Shannon – is planned to open next month.

A Minister, yet to be named officially, is expected to come to the town to do the honours and launch the long awaited €13 million river crossing.

“The plan is to open it on August 8, that is subject to construction works being completed and a successful safety audit being carried out,” Michael Kelly, the Galway to Athlone cycleway project coordinator with Westmeath County Council, confirmed on Monday last.

The contractor Jons Civil Engineering Ltd is currently doing “finishing works” on the project which mainly consist of paving and railing, lighting and then snagging items, and they are “confident” of having the construction fully complete by the end of this month, Mr Kelly told the Westmeath Independent.

Then subject to a successful safety audit, the opening can go ahead on Tuesday, August 8.

The new cycleway bridge will be Athlone's fourth bridge over the Shannon, and the first to be developed since the bypass bridge, or relief road bridge, opened to traffic 32 years ago, in March 1991.

Delighted how the new infrastructure project has turned out, Mr Kelly said the new bridge will link both sides of Athlone allowing more active travel by pedestrians and cyclists, and he believes the public will appreciate the other bridges more from the new structure, given that walkers and cyclists will be able to stop and take in the views of the White Bridge and the town bridge.

In terms of a name for the bridge, the situation remains the same as last month, with no decision expected in the immediate future about an official name for the new crossing.

Last September, the core structure of the bridge was lifted into place between the Radisson Blu Hotel on the east side of the town, and the Luan Gallery on the west, something that captivated the public imagination in terms of a feat of engineering, and generated much comment, both positive and negative, about the appearance of the bridge as it progressed.

While it is launching several months later than the initially hoped for Easter opening and then moved to early summer, the council is keen to get it open safely as soon as possible and take advantage of what's left of the season. Some weather delays and a wait for cladding materials coming from Germany for the ramps leading up to the bridge in recent times were cited by the local authority as reasons for the delays.

Describing it as the “mid piece of the jigsaw” of the Athlone to Galway greenway, Michael Kelly expressed hope that it will now give momentum for the next stretch to be developed from Athlone Castle to Galway which is going through a separate process after the publication of the preferred route in April.

It's over a decade now since local councillors were first briefed on a proposal to develop a cycleway bridge in Athlone. The project was initially proposed for a location north of the white railway bridge, between Montree and the Golden Mile/Number One area.

In 2014, it was suggested a bridge would be developed as a cantilevered or 'clip on' structure that would have been attached to the southern side of the Athlone town bridge.

However, the council later that year opted for a standalone option, settling on the route between the Radisson Blu Hotel and the Luan Gallery.