Walking and cycling bridge to be built in Derry as part of route to Muff in Donegal

A planning application has been lodged to build a new 62 metre shared walking and cycling bridge in Derry City as part of a route to Muff in County Donegal.

In a statement under embargo until now (11am Monday 18th), Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “The proposed bridge would span an intake of water near the Fort George site, expanding the Quay Trail into Bay Road park. The planning application was received by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Planning Service on the 11 March and is in the early stages of consideration.”

The council said that the proposed bridge will provide a link from Derry city centre to Muff in County Donegal. It’s also part of a wider North West Greenway Network project planned by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council which is intented to span 46.5km of cross-border greenways, which will also include routes between Derry to Buncrana and Lifford to Strabane.

Cllr Michaela Boyle, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, said: “I am delighted this key infrastructure project, which will complement the emerging City Deal riverfront regeneration plans, has reached this important milestone. Subject to planning approval, it will play a significant role in connecting people through our infrastructure, facilitating more people to get outdoors and choose sustainable travel options, whilst benefitting peoples’ health and wellbeing.”

Cllr Boyle said: “Now, more than ever, there is a real need for investment in projects which encourage a more active, healthy lifestyle. Once completed, the proposed new bridge will further enhance the City and District’s growing greenway network.”

The council said that funding for the project has been provided through the EU’s INTERREG VA programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. Match-funding has been provided by the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and the Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport in Ireland.

Gina McIntyre, chief executive of Special EU Programmes Body, said: “This bridge is an integral section of the North West Greenway Network’s route 2, which will link Derry to Muff. It will encourage more people to choose an eco-friendly form of travel, one of the core objectives of the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme, which has been designed to support more sustainable forms of transport, on both sides of the border.”

She added: “It is also important, as we emerge from COVID-19 restrictions in the coming weeks and months, that we rebuild our society and the economy in a more environmentally-conscious way. This greenway will help support a more socially distanced recovery process, an approach that will pay real and tangible dividends for us all in the future.”

 


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1 comment

  1. So they are providing a nearly 5m wide bridge but only a constructed width of 3m giving an effective (usable) width of 3-2*0.65=1.7m. I think that they need to revisit that.

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