The design for a new bridge over the river Foyle at Derry is announced.
The second bridge for Derry over the river Foyle will be over eight hundred metres long, with a clearance of just over thirty metres to allow ships to pass beneath it. The contract of £15,750,000 has been awarded Redpath Dorman Long and Graham Contracts Ltd., and the design is by Freeman Fox and Partners.
Work on the approach road on the east side of the river has already begun, but construction on the bridge itself will commence early next year, with a completion date in early 1983.
The announcement was made today by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Humphrey Atkins during a visit to Derry City Council.
In his speech he noted that bridge building is not exclusively about job creation and the provision of infrastructure. It also represents a contribution to the improvement of North-South relations.
On a symbolic level, the new bridge relates to wider political issues affecting the people of Northern Ireland, and he hopes that this investment by the British government will,
Help them to build bridges by which they may travel when and where they wish.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 3 December 1979.
