Revealed: Date of official opening of new bridge

Athlone's new greenway bridge across the Shannon will be officially opened on Tuesday, August 8, it has been confirmed.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers will officiate at a ceremony on the bridge on August 8, which coincides with the concluding day of the three-day Féile na Sionainne in Athlone in association with the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil being held in Mullingar.

August 8 had been suggested in recent weeks as the proposed date for the bridge to be opened to the public. This has now been confirmed with the arrangement of the official opening ceremony.

The opening of the €13m bridge is the culmination of an almost two-year construction project, which commenced in September 2021 under the leadership of Jons Civil Engineering Ltd. An Easter opening date had originally been planned but weather conditions and delays in materials resulted in delays.

The bridge is the fourth over the river in Athlone, and the first since the construction of the bypass bridge or relief road bridge in 1991.

It will bring the Dublin to Galway cycleway west of the Shannon. However, at present, the next phase, Athlone Castle to Galway, is still in the planning process, with the preferred route published last April.

The concept of a greenway bridge over the river was first mooted over a decade ago. The project was initially proposed for a location north of the white railway bridge, and then the suggestion of a cantilevered or 'clip on' structure for the southern side of the Athlone town bridge was mooted before a standalone option was agreed following statutory planning processes.