Narrow Water Bridge - Yes or No

[THE MIGHTY QUINN]

I agree with you Flynn 100%. Firstly the new Newry by pass will end at the existing newly upgraded section of the A1 at Beechill where there is a busy at grade junction, a housing development and a 60 mph speed limit. This on a section of road which was just completed last year!! As regards the Narrow Water Bridge this cannot be justified on traffic grounds and will be of no real benefit for traffic travelling from South Down to Dublin compared with the proposed Newry southern Relief Road, which, as an earlier poster asked, will run from the Warrenpoint Road, adjacent to the Marshes football ground and run along an elevated route, to the main Belfast to Dublin Road. It is a hugely exciting prospect but I believe it could be jeopardised by the cheaper and much less effective Narrow Water Bridge 

[amallon]

I hadn't heard anything of this southern relief road before and was in favour of the narrow water bridge, but the southern relief road would be my preference now.  The bridge will be built first because the southern government will be coughing up a large part of the money for it.  The southern relief road would have to be paid for by the northern tax payer and for that reason is more likely to be put on the long finger.

What I really want is a motorway from the 7 bends to the cloghue junction straight through Ballyholland!   

[thebandit]

They should build the bridge surely - and get Arthur Morgan to open it!

[stew]

What would the building of this bridge do to the price of property on the carriageway between the point and Newry? I am thinking the land would be worth considerably more than it is now.

[Bacon]

A bit of a fall out between Conor Murphy & Margaret Ritchie on this one.
Ritchie is being an opportunist issuing press releases on issues that Murphy is responsible for.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markdevenport/

[Ulick]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19948062

Narrow Water bridge gets go-ahead from Irish planners
CGI model of the bridge at Narrow Water The bridge will span the Newry River at Narrow Water


Irish planning authorities have given the go-ahead for a new bridge to be built at Narrow Water between County Louth and County Down.

An Bord Pleanála gave planning permission to Louth County Council for the construction of the bridge across the Newry River.

NI Environment Minister, Alex Attwood, last week granted planning permission for the project.

The single lane cable bridge will be 660 metres long and cost 18m euro.

The project is one of 12 seeking a share of a 30m euro EU fund and Louth County Council said they hoped it would be opened by mid-2015.

Already 900,000 euro has been spent on the project so far.

The Chairman of Louth County Council, Countillor Finnan McCoy, described the announcement by An Bord Pleanála as "another welcome and important milestone towards physical work commencing on the site".

[Rois]

Maybe this one could be named after Mary McAleese since the Drogheda lot don't want to rename the Boyne Bridge for her. 

[armaghniac]

The project is one of 12 seeking a share of a 30m euro EU fund and Louth County Council said they hoped it would be opened by mid-2015.

These don't seem great odds, but EU funding is key.

Maybe this one could be named after Mary McAleese since the Drogheda lot don't want to rename the Boyne Bridge for her.

I think this would be ideal, much more so than the M1 bridge.

[Leo]

I agree with you Flynn 100%. Firstly the new Newry by pass will end at the existing newly upgraded section of the A1 at Beechill where there is a busy at grade junction, a housing development and a 60 mph speed limit. This on a section of road which was just completed last year!! As regards the Narrow Water Bridge this cannot be justified on traffic grounds and will be of no real benefit for traffic travelling from South Down to Dublin compared with the proposed Newry southern Relief Road, which, as an earlier poster asked, will run from the Warrenpoint Road, adjacent to the Marshes football ground and run along an elevated route, to the main Belfast to Dublin Road. It is a hugely exciting prospect but I believe it could be jeopardised by the cheaper and much less effective Narrow Water Bridge

TMG - rock of sense.
This is an ego project being contested on narrow political grounds between selfishSDLP imterests & Shinner politicos. Has any cost-benefit analysis been done? I doubt it.. A Newry southern relief road is not just an alternative - it is an essential part of the north-south infranstructure, both for Nerwy and the bottlencks that are Kilorey Street & Dublin Bridges - and for the Mourne region, which could potentially be given a direct link from the Dublin-Belfast motorway. If Narrow Water goes ahead it will emasculate the notion of a proper north-south link rather than enhance it.
Narrow Water = Narrow Thinking.

[ziggysego]

Maybe this one could be named after Mary McAleese since the Drogheda lot don't want to rename the Boyne Bridge for her.

I wouldn't be too sure of that Rois

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19941696

[T Fearon]

Surely it has to be named after a famous Down legend,like Sean O'Neill

[sheamy]

Maybe this one could be named after Mary McAleese since the Drogheda lot don't want to rename the Boyne Bridge for her.

I wouldn't be too sure of that Rois

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19941696

According to another: "Mary McAleese was a good president but she's not from this area, so I don't think it should be called after her."

The 'Steve Staunton Boyne Cable Bridge' it is then....

[Lecale2]

I agree with you Flynn 100%. Firstly the new Newry by pass will end at the existing newly upgraded section of the A1 at Beechill where there is a busy at grade junction, a housing development and a 60 mph speed limit. This on a section of road which was just completed last year!! As regards the Narrow Water Bridge this cannot be justified on traffic grounds and will be of no real benefit for traffic travelling from South Down to Dublin compared with the proposed Newry southern Relief Road, which, as an earlier poster asked, will run from the Warrenpoint Road, adjacent to the Marshes football ground and run along an elevated route, to the main Belfast to Dublin Road. It is a hugely exciting prospect but I believe it could be jeopardised by the cheaper and much less effective Narrow Water Bridge

TMG - rock of sense.
This is an ego project being contested on narrow political grounds between selfishSDLP imterests & Shinner politicos. Has any cost-benefit analysis been done? I doubt it.. A Newry southern relief road is not just an alternative - it is an essential part of the north-south infranstructure, both for Nerwy and the bottlencks that are Kilorey Street & Dublin Bridges - and for the Mourne region, which could potentially be given a direct link from the Dublin-Belfast motorway. If Narrow Water goes ahead it will emasculate the notion of a proper north-south link rather than enhance it.
Narrow Water = Narrow Thinking.

Well said Leo. The southern relief road is also essential for the future of Warrenpoint Port. There was an economic appraisal carry out a few years ago the there is a very strong economic case for it.

If the Narrow Water Bridge goes ahead the relief road that is really needed will never happen.

[Hardy]

Who told Louth Co. Co. they had naming rights for the Boyne bridge? As previously announced here, it will be Joe Sheridan Bridge, to symbolise the historic sporting friendship between the counties it joins.

[armaghniac]

This is an ego project being contested on narrow political grounds between selfishSDLP imterests & Shinner politicos. Has any cost-benefit analysis been done? I doubt it.. A Newry southern relief road is not just an alternative - it is an essential part of the north-south infranstructure, both for Nerwy and the bottlencks that are Kilorey Street & Dublin Bridges - and for the Mourne region, which could potentially be given a direct link from the Dublin-Belfast motorway. If Narrow Water goes ahead it will emasculate the notion of a proper north-south link rather than enhance it.
Narrow Water = Narrow Thinking.

I don't see what a Narrow water bridge has to do with Newry southern relief road. It is bit like saying that widening the road from Camlough to Bessbrook reduces the need for a Newry bypass. This project is developed by Louth and will be largely funded by EU sources, probably a fund for tourist infrastructure, and will have feck all work needed on the northern side.   The relief road will have to stand on its own merits.