Peace Bridge, Derry/Londonderry
Possibly the most exciting and significant bridge to feature in this website. The inspiration for the S-shaped plan of this landmark structure derives from Maurice Harron's sculpture "The hands across the divide" at Carlisle Roundabout in the City. Two distinct structures - one reaching out from the Cityside (predominantly nationalist), the other from Ebrington Square on the Waterside (predominantly unionist) meet in a structural handshake in the middle of the River Foyle.
The bridge was designed by Wilkinson Eyre who also designed the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Construction started in 2010; the main contractors were Graham of Dromore. Construction was funded jointly by the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, along with matching funding from the Special EU Programmes Body under the EU Peace III program; the total cost was £10 million.
The bridge was opened on 25 June 2011 by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn. The ceremony was also attended by the First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, and by the Taoiseach of the Irish Republic, Enda Kenny. The bridge has received a number of prestigious design and engineering awards.
The bridge is a curved self-anchored suspension bridge, with two inclined pylons dividing the structure into three spans over the river, and approach spans on either bank. The two structures The bridge varies in width between 3.5 and 4.5 metres and is 235 metres long plus two approach spans of 37 metres giving a total length of 312 metres. The deck of the bridge rises a total of 7.5 metres from the Cityside to the Waterside. The maximum height of the structure above water level is 36 metres.
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