Waterford Bridge open day

Fugs!!

Hi people.

I believe the new South link Bridge is opening to traffic next Tuesday and will be open to padestrians on Monday, but you have to book it online!

Does anyone know where online you can book this as I can't find it anywhere!

Many thanks!
Fugs

Bards

Fugs!! wrote: »

Hi people.

I believe the new South link Bridge is opening to traffic next Tuesday and will be open to padestrians on Monday, but you have to book it online!

Does anyone know where online you can book this as I can't find it anywhere!

Many thanks!
Fugs

where did you hear this???

AFAIK there is a safety audit taking place from Friday until Tuesday and I doubt very much they will allow Joe Public access onto the site.

the main sites belonging the the contractors are

www.crg.ie - Contractors
www.southlink.ie - Toll Operators

none of these two site has any information about this

Sully

Despite popular belief - its not being opened to folk walking. I think the offical open day is Monday but traffic starts on the Tuesday.

jonnyfingers

There were plans to have a 10k run that passes over the bridge before it is officially open to traffic. I last spoke to one of the race organisers about two weeks ago so haven't had a update since.

Sully

jonnyfingers wrote: »

There were plans to have a 10k run that passes over the bridge before it is officially open to traffic. I last spoke to one of the race organisers about two weeks ago so haven't had a update since.

There was an update here recently, it was not given the go ahead.

thund3rbird_

open to traffic on Monday, public open day Sunday

KingLoser

Is the open day definetly on Sunday? Gonna cycle out and check it out before they ban us off the road forever.

baronflyguy

Bards is correct, the official websites (even waterford city council) mention nothing about an open day to walk on it or when it will be open to traffic.
What is the standard with opening roads, it is like other official openings whereby they let it open for a short while in a low key way and then have an official opening on another date when the small bits and bobs are finished?

Until we have some reference (web link or some officials name and title) anything anyone writes here is just rumours.

Here's my rumour, I 'heard' from a guy in the canteen at work who knows betty who lives near the bridge who slept with johnny the engineer, it is opening Halloween night, they plan to save money on the celebration official opening by using the backdrop of fireworks in the background of the city to open the new bridge. Minister Cullen will be arriving in a taxi (to show he can save money on expenses) and also to show his support for the taxi industry.

RxQueen

baronflyguy wrote: »

Bards is correct, the official websites (even waterford city council) mention nothing about an open day to walk on it or when it will be open to traffic.
What is the standard with opening roads, it is like other official openings whereby they let it open for a short while in a low key way and then have an official opening on another date when the small bits and bobs are finished?

Until we have some reference (web link or some officials name and title) anything anyone writes here is just rumours.

Here's my rumour, I 'heard' from a guy in the canteen at work who knows betty who lives near the bridge who slept with johnny the engineer, it is opening Halloween night, they plan to save money on the celebration official opening by using the backdrop of fireworks in the background of the city to open the new bridge. Minister Cullen will be arriving in a taxi (to show he can save money on expenses) and also to show his support for the taxi industry.

hahaha the end of that post is class lol!

shockwave

Does anyone know if the bridge has a name yet?

old gregg

The New Red Iron Bridge works for me anyway

wfman

anyone know how much we have to rent it for?
maybe we should call it the 40 year bridge thats about how long it was promised for.:mad:

Bears and Vodka

baronflyguy wrote: »

Bards is correct, the official websites (even waterford city council) mention nothing about an open day to walk on it or when it will be open to traffic.
What is the standard with opening roads, it is like other official openings whereby they let it open for a short while in a low key way and then have an official opening on another date when the small bits and bobs are finished?

Until we have some reference (web link or some officials name and title) anything anyone writes here is just rumours.

Here's my rumour, I 'heard' from a guy in the canteen at work who knows betty who lives near the bridge who slept with johnny the engineer, it is opening Halloween night, they plan to save money on the celebration official opening by using the backdrop of fireworks in the background of the city to open the new bridge. Minister Cullen will be arriving in a taxi (to show he can save money on expenses) and also to show his support for the taxi industry.

Lol dude epic win!

deisedol

I dont think they have decided on a name yet. I think it will probably be decided by central Government....something with a kilkenny/waterford slant as it is bridging the two counties. 'South East Gateway' Bridge would be a good name- I think it should be something generic rather than being named after any one individual.
They may also go the historical/tourism route when picking a name - maybe the 'Viking Gateway Bridge' or 'TF Meagher Bridge'.

Does anyone know what they are thinking of calling it

JohnC.

There's been an update on the Council site today.

Waterford City Bypass Opening
Updated 14th October 2009

The Waterford City N25 Bypass will be officially opened by Minister Martin Cullen on Monday October 19th 2009. The new bypass and bridge will open for traffic later on Monday evening.

There will be a unique opportunity for members of the public to view the iconic new River Suir bridge at first hand on Monday afternoon before the bridge opens for traffic. From 1.30pm on Monday afternoon a dedicated bus service will pick up any interested members of the public at the Clock Tower on the Quays and bring them out to the Bridge site where people will have the chance to walk across the new bridge and view the magnificent structure at close quarters. Buses will run on a continuous out and return basis for the afternoon up to 4.30pm and will be free of charge.This is a one-off opportunity as there will be no pedestrian access to the bridge once it opens for traffic.There will be no private vehicular access to the bridge, access roads or site offices on Monday and the bus service will be the only way of getting access to the bridge.

So, Monday it is then.

baronflyguy

shockwave wrote: »

Does anyone know if the bridge has a name yet?

Didnt hear anything on the grapevine about the official name
but best nick name I've heard so far was "The Cat Flap"

Beeker

I heard it was to be called the "Suir Bridge"

Fugs!!

Jesus People are very cocky on this!

It was in the news and star about 6 weeks ago that there will be an open day for walkers etc... This was announced a long time ago pending further investigation on health and safety etc...

This was not an "I heard" question! Please don't answer with stupid smart comments.

Turns out there is a bus run from town for people who wish to walk it next Monday afternoon!

The official name is "The South Link Bridge"

Sully

The open day the News & Star commented on was for the balloons - which has came and gone.

There is no confirmed open day at the moment (according to a senior source in the city council development) - 99% is speculation.

Okay, its confirmed.

See: http://www.waterfordcity.ie/n25bypass/news.htm

Typhoon.

FFS ya have to get a bus out from the clock tower !!:mad:

Road-Hog

Fugs!! wrote: »

Jesus People are very cocky on this!

It was in the news and star about 6 weeks ago that there will be an open day for walkers etc... This was announced a long time ago pending further investigation on health and safety etc...

This was not an "I heard" question! Please don't answer with stupid smart comments.

Turns out there is a bus run from town for people who wish to walk it next Monday afternoon!

The official name is "The South Link Bridge"

'South Link' is the name of the company who will operate and maintain the bypass for the next 26.5 years........I think you could be a bit incorrect with this name.....from sources within the 3 councils inovlved there is no plans for a particular name other than River Suir Bridge.....nice and neutral and will not offend anyone as we all know how sensative folk on the KK/WD border can be......!!

KingLoser

There is an open day, huzzah!

Any more news on Halloween night bfg? :pac:

shapez

Can we cycle on it?? :rolleyes:

KingLoser

shapez wrote: »

Can we cycle on it?? :rolleyes:

I wish! Alas, no. Us green crusaders are not welcome on zee new bridge.

shapez

KingLoser wrote: »

I wish! Alas, no. Us green crusaders are not welcome on zee new bridge.

Wow, so much for doing our bit for the environment. :rolleyes:

So, there is pedestrian access and no cycles lanes. Some way to move forward with the times alright.

JohnC.

shapez wrote: »

So, there is pedestrian access and no cycles lanes. Some way to move forward with the times alright.

No, there is no pedestrian access either. At least not once it is open. This is a once-off thing before the bridge opens.

shapez

Kahless wrote: »

No, there is no pedestrian access either. At least not once it is open. This is a once-off thing before the bridge opens.

Whoa!! And I take it it'll be a 50km zone as well even though it's the route to avoid going through the city center?

Genius. Clearly the Greens didn't have much of an input when this was planned. :rolleyes:

JohnC.

Cars cause the congestion, not cyclists or pedestrians.

tonc76

The speed limit is set at 100 km/h. The Western Link which ties into the ORR will remain at 60 km/h.

Now can all the whinging stop - the bridge/road is about to open to traffic

Elaine08

Does anyone know if its possible at the weekend to walk it or is it just Monday? I'd love to walk on it but unfortunately i work in dublin

baronflyguy

Elaine08 wrote: »

Does anyone know if its possible at the weekend to walk it or is it just Monday? I'd love to walk on it but unfortunately i work in dublin

I would safely guess no for insurance and safety reasons. Until it opens i would guess it is still classified as a construction site and security would be employed to keep you away. If anything happens and it went to court they will want to cover their asses as much as possible. On the open day I would guess they will have loads of minders looking out for people to make sure they are kept safe and don't get up to mischief.

having a bus ferry people to and from the venue controls the flow of people to the bridge and is less of a headache for them for safety reasons.

fricatus

shapez wrote: »

Wow, so much for doing our bit for the environment. :rolleyes:

So, there is pedestrian access and no cycles lanes. Some way to move forward with the times alright.

shapez wrote: »

Genius. Clearly the Greens didn't have much of an input when this was planned. :rolleyes:

Kahless wrote: »

Cars cause the congestion, not cyclists or pedestrians.

For God's sake will ye all stop bellyaching... :rolleyes:

It's a bypass of the city, the idea of which is to provide a reasonably quick route for vehicular traffic that doesn't need to be in the city centre.

Its effect will be to make the city centre safer and more pleasant for cyclists and pedestrians, among others.

Where energies need to be directed now is at the city council... they need to completely remake the Quay. So as not to pull this thread off the topic of the new bridge and its open day, I'll open a new thread on that subject now.

soldering iron

I tried to walk across the bribge last saturday afternoon, but I was stopped by security guards.The more adventourous of us will make it across, next saturday i will try again.

renraw

Guys, the bridge opens on monday. Buses will be leaving the clock tower from 13:00 PM on monday for people who wish to see it. Cars will not be allowed access until 17:00 on monday when it is officially opened for traffic. Martin Cullen ius due to open it. The fun run will not be taking part there despite media information.

jo06555

i hear theirs no option for pedestrians after open day. what happens if i break down do i have to walk on road?

renraw

The toll plaza has 6 lanes on each side, both east and west. There is a hard shoulder on the main dual carriageway but not on the bridge. Speed has been set ast 50kph through the plaza, 80 after 300 metres and then 100 kms on main carriageway.

deise4ever

All I can say is thanks a bunch to whoever organised the open day for Monday. Don't they realise that those of us who are, thankfully, still in work would have loved the opportunity to walk across the bridge? Personally, I have really been looking forward to it since it was first announced that there would be an open day for the public. We have little enough in Waterford at the moment to give us a bit of cheer and now we can't even walk across the bridge.

As regards the name, I think it should be called the Charles Bacik Bridge because, if he had not come to Waterford, we would not have had the revival of Waterford Glass and, as we all know, not only Waterford people benefitted from 'The Glass' but half of South Kilkenny did also.

Sully

Lads, treat the road as a motorway. That is why your not permitted to be on a bike or walk it.

fricatus

Sully wrote: »

Lads, treat the road as a motorway. That is why your not permitted to be on a bike or walk it.

If the NRA had any sense, they'd have treated it as a motorway too and designated it as such! :mad:

fricatus

deise4ever wrote: »

All I can say is thanks a bunch to whoever organised the open day for Monday. Don't they realise that those of us who are, thankfully, still in work would have loved the opportunity to walk across the bridge? Personally, I have really been looking forward to it since it was first announced that there would be an open day for the public.

I'd expand a little on your point there and include the fact that there has been very little coverage in the media of the whole construction of what is an amazing structure.

Is it because engineers are apt to hide their light under a bushel? Or is it that those in the media, with their tinted glasses and VW Beetles, are too blasé about something as nerdy as, loike, a bridge... I mean not once have I seen any reference to this bridge in the national media, and I read the Indo and the Times daily, and most days watch RTE and TV3 news.

Loads of people I know have watched with a mixture of amazement and delight as the bridge took shape. They pounced on, and devoured, every scrap of information as to how it would look, how it was being constructed, and so on. Had there been open days every three months, I'd have gone up there. I'm going to work an early shift on Monday so that I can walk the bridge with my uncle, who was my (tender) age when the second-bridge idea was first put forward in the '70s.

The idea that they can spend three years building this and not have the open day one day earlier to suit the majority of people just makes me despair. Do they not care, or do they not think we care, about the wonderful work they do?

alpha2zulu

Guys and Gals ,wait till you see it lit up at night. As I was coming in on the N24 Limerick Road last night around 730 they had part of the lighting on that side of the bridge switched on. Basically it looks like a strip of very bright white LED's along the whole length of the concrete tower. I'm guessing this is only part of what the finished lights will look like.
Looked incredible,much more striking than any of the night pics of the M1 Boyne Bridge...Roll on Monday:D

deise4ever

Fricatus, they don't call us 'the gentle county' for nothing!! Don't want to start sounding paranoid but if this beautiful stucture had been built in Cork or Galway, we would have been sick to the teeth of hearing about it. I agree with you, it was such a joy watching its progress. Wonder if there will even be any decent coverage about the actual opening.

Daysha

I remember quite a hefty amount of coverage when the Boyne bridge opened a good few years ago, so we should see something similar.

I expect the government to try lap it up as much as possible too, they won't let a good news story like this go to waste given the current situation.

kilkennycat2004

what is the toll?

This is what will determine the success, or not, of the second river crossing

alpha2zulu

1.00 for motorbikes,1.90 for cars each way and up to 6.10 for multi axle trucks apparently

Sully

Not much advantage of paying now when the road goes nowhere really.

Where does it connect on the Dublin side, when it opens? The Limerick road and back onto the N9?

tonc76

Sully wrote: »

Not much advantage of paying now when the road goes nowhere really.

Where does it connect on the Dublin side, when it opens? The Limerick road and back onto the N9?

So if you are driving from Rosslare/Wexford etc to Cork/Kerry etc there is no advantage of using the toll road over travelling through the city?

Have you driven through the city recently?:rolleyes:

gscully

tonc76 wrote: »

So if you are driving from Rosslare/Wexford etc to Cork/Kerry etc there is no advantage of using the toll road over travelling through the city?

Have you driven through the city recently?:rolleyes:

I think Sully means that while the bridge is opening, it is the ONLY section opening and the full advantage won't be seen until all sections are open. As it stands, from Monday, you can cross the bridge and then end up on the crap road to Mullinavat!

Aquos76

Yes that may well be so, however, the bridge is actually part of the Waterford by-pass and not the M9. The by-pass is fully opening from Monday. The M9 will however complement our new bridge once completed

tonc76

Aquos76 wrote: »

Yes that may well be so, however, the bridge is actually part of the Waterford by-pass and not the M9. The by-pass is fully opening from Monday. The M9 will however complement our new bridge once completed

Agree completely

It's the N25 Waterford Bypass

fricatus

Sully wrote: »

Not much advantage of paying now when the road goes nowhere really.

Sully, just because it doesn't lead to Dublin, doesn't mean that it goes nowhere now, come on! :rolleyes:

As others have said... Wexford to Cork/Kerry for example? Also, anyone say living in New Ross, or out Kilmacow way, and working in the Waterford Industrial Park or WIT will be glad of it.

I do - kind of - understand what you're saying though, in that if Waterford is your origin or destination, then you won't use the road. But for those of us lucky enough to live in the city, it will take a lot of through traffic off the streets, and that will be a huge benefit to us.