Athlone cycleway bridge unlikely to be ready for Easter opening

Athlone's new cycleway bridge is now unlikely to open to the public until after Easter, it has emerged.

It was hoped pedestrians and cyclists would be crossing the new bridge by the Easter bank holiday, which falls on April 10, but a council official said this timeframe for the bridge's opening had "slipped a bit" because the cold weather in January caused delays to the ongoing work on it.

The core structure of the bridge was lifted into place in September, but Westmeath County Council engineer Michael Kelly said the conditions in January had slowed progress with the finishes on the bridge and the cantilevered boardwalks connected to it on both sides of the river.

"We don't have a definitive date (for the opening) at the moment," said Mr Kelly, though he anticipated that it would now happen at some stage in the weeks after Easter.

He said he would be meeting with the contractor for the project in the coming days, and was likely to have a clearer sense of the timeframe for the opening following that meeting.

In August of 2021, a contact of approximately €13 million was awarded in Jons Civil Engineering for the construction of the bridge and cantilevered boardwalks.

The cycleway crossing on the Shannon is expected to serve as the starting point for an Athlone to Galway section of the cycleway, the planning of which has proven contentious over the years.

A report from Westmeath County Council Chief Executive Pat Gallagher to councillors this month stated that there were still three areas along the proposed route where no agreement had been reached with private landowners.

"The project team are continuing with consultations as they try to finalise the route through areas of private lands," said Mr Gallagher's report.

"There are three locations along the 205-kilometre route that are proving difficult to reach an agreement with private landowners on a route."

The report added that public information evenings were expected to be held "early in 2023, when the emerging preferred route is finalised".