Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge reopens this morning, bright as a new penny.
After a brief closure for a make-over, the 185-year-old structure will welcome all comers complete with shiny new railings, painted in the original off-white of 1816. The bridge was closed in March for what Dublin Corporation described as "major repairs". These involved the conservation and restoration of the existing railings, replacement of the deck and a general clean-up of the entire structure. There were particular safety concerns about the railings, which had deteriorated badly.
At the time the corporation said it would reopen in July. However, the task "was not a straightforward process, and when you're dealing with a structure that's almost 200 years old, there are going to be problems," according to Ms Ann Lannon, spokeswoman for the corporation. "The whole procedure had to be handled painstakingly."
From 11 a.m. today it will once again be freely accessible to the estimated 30,000 people who cross the river at that point every day. The first person to make the crossing this morning will be Dublin's first citizen, the Lord Mayor, Mr Michael Mulcahy.
Among the relatively few changes to the bridge are a new slip-resistant deck, new railings where necessary and wider entrances at each end with curved granite walls to increase space and safety. It will be flood-lit, promising to charm the city's denizens as they traverse the Liffey by night. There are no ramps for wheelchair or buggy access because it is too high and ramps would be too steep, says Ms Lannon.
However, the nearby Millennium Bridge is fully wheelchair-accessible. As a listed structure, refurbishment of the Ha'penny Bridge had to comply with conservation principles, she continued. Among the firms who worked on it were Irishenco Construction and Belfast's Harland and Wolff. During the nine months it was closed people crossed the Liffey at that point on a temporary footbridge, supplied by Irishenco.
Ms Lannon said a number of people had expressed unease about the "wobbly" nature of it but she said it was "totally safe" and moved because it was designed with no central support.
It was brought to Dublin from Britain and returns there in the new year.
