Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge
| Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge | |
| County Kilkenny, County Wexford | |
|---|---|
 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | N25 road |
| Crossing: | River Barrow |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | S68582322 |
| Location: | 52°21’24"N, 6°59’38"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 2,910 feet Main span: 755 feet |
| Design: | Extradosed bridge |
| Material: | Concrete |
| History | |
| Built 2016 – 2019 | |
| Information | |
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge is an extradosed bridge over the River Barrow, between County Kilkenny on the western bank and County Wexford on the eastern. It was built as part of the N25 New Ross Bypass, and was officially opened on 29 January 2020. It opened to traffic on 30 January 2020, becoming Ireland's longest bridge.[1][2]
The bridge received in 2021 an Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering.[3][4]
Name
The bridge is controversially officially named after Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of former US President John F. Kennedy whose ancestors came from nearby Dunganstown.[5] It is also popularly referred to as the Pink Rock Bridge[6] or as the New Ross Bypass Bridge, and as the Barrow Crossing in technical materials related to its construction.
Overview
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The 755-foot main spans of the bridge are the longest concrete-only extradosed box-girder bridge spans in the world. The spans are equal in length to the main span of the N25 Suir Bridge in Waterford; and 13 feet shorter the main span of the Foyle Bridge in Londonderry, which is 69 feet shorter in total length. The two central main spans are supported by a central plane of stay cables passing through saddles located on three towers at the three central supports. The distinctive feature of the Bridge is the different height of the towers. The side towers have a height of 53 feet and have 8 passing cables and the central pier has a height of 89 feet and 18 passing cables.
Construction method
The side spans over dry land on both sides of the river Barrow were built using a scaffold and a wing form traveller. The main spans were built using the balanced cantilever method. At its maximum length from the central pier, the west span cantilevered 140m over the river.
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge) |
References
- ↑ O'Brien, Tim (2019-07-29). "Work on State's longest bridge delays New Ross bypass opening". The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/work-on-state-s-longest-bridge-delays-new-ross-bypass-opening-1.3970078. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
- ↑ "Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge to finally open on January 29". 17 January 2020. https://kilkennynow.ie/irelands-longest-bridge-linking-kilkenny-and-wexford-to-open-this-month/. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ↑ |title=2021 IABSE Awards - Outstanding Structure Award (9 June 2021)
- ↑ IABSE - Outstanding Structure Award: iabse.org 30 July 2024
- ↑ Keyes, Dermot (11 April 2019). "More sparks fly over Rose Kennedy Bridge". The Munster Express. http://www.munster-express.ie/front-page-news/more-sparks-fly-over-rose-kennedy-bridge/. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ↑ Looby, David (13 October 2018). "Bridge name confirmed after four long years" (in en). Irish Independent. https://www.independent.ie/regionals/newrossstandard/news/bridge-name-confirmed-after-four-long-years-37396982.html.