A new bridge for Limerick across the Shannon will connect Mallow Street to the North Circular Road.
With modern motor transport, Limerick's 19th-century bridges have become traffic bottlenecks. To remedy the problem, a contract for the building of a new bridge over the Shannon at Limerick has been signed between Limerick Corporation and contractors Ascon Limited of Kill, County Kildare.
The new Mallow Street Bridge will be a fairly straightforward engineering job costing just under three and a half million pounds.
There is a good rock foundation in the River Shannon and most of the engineering problems lie in the construction of the northern approach road, which passes through a bog.
The concrete and steel two lane bridge linking Mallow Street with the heavily populated north side of the city is the first to be constructed in Limerick in 142 years. The bridge will be 300 metres long with seven spans, and it is expected that 20,000 vehicles a day will use it to cross the Shannon in 1988.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 13 March 1986. The reporter is Michael Walsh.
