LONG awaited works are to begin on Quin bridge next week, which will see the removal of temporary bollards providing pedestrian access on the bridge.
The local bridge committee held a meeting at Quin Hall this week where it was revealed that Clare County Council is to begin works on agreed plans to provide pedestrian access on the bridge from Monday.
The news comes on the back of nine months work by the local committee, under the chairmanship of Tony Demspey, who said they are pleased to see the project to progress to the construction stage.
It is expected the work will take about four weeks to complete, weather-permitting. This will mean the project will be completed by Christmas.
Local councillor Clare Colleran Molloy said, “Thankfully, the bollards will be removed next week and there will be a pathway paved and edged in Liscannor limestone, which will be put on the bridge”.
The work, when complete, will see the bridge catering to single lane traffic only, something Councillor Colleran Molloy said will be welcome, as motorists had been moving bollards in to facilitate two-lane traffic.
“There will be a stop and go system and what will be more clearly defined is that motorists can’t get up on the footpaths and having two-car traffic on the bridge won’t be possible,” she said.
Another aspect of the project is the provision of a pedestrian zebra crossing directly in front of the Monks Well, to allow pedestrians to cross the road safely and to access the bridge.
Councillor Colleran Molloy noted the bollards on the bridge are in place since 2011 and that, finally, the bridge can return to being aesthetically pleasing.
Carol Byrne
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.