Galway City Tribune – The days of pedestrians having only inches to spare as they brush with traffic on the Salmon Weir Bridge are set to come to an end by 2021, with the construction of a new crossing over the river.

Costing just over €7 million, the new Salmon Weir Pedestrian Bridge will be located on the south side of the existing structure, linking Newtownsmyth/St Vincent’s Avenue with the Gaol Road, close to Galway Cathedral.

City Council Senior Engineer, Uinsinn Finn, in a report to city councillors on the proposed new bridge said that the existing Salmon Weir Bridge was over 200 years old and catered for substantial volumes of cars, buses, pedestrians and cyclists.

“This proposed [pedestrian] bridge will complement the city’s walking and cycle network and will encourage more cyclists to cross the River Corrib at a strategic crossing point, namely from the Cathedral to the City Centre area,” said Mr Finn.

He outlined that the Design Report, Topographical Survey, Public Consultation Process, Environmental Impact Study and Planning Documentation would be completed in 2019 with the Procurement and Contract Documents signed by the second quarter of 2020. Construction would follow in 2021.

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