The Peace Bridge is a cycle and foot

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Northern Ireland. It opened on 25 June 2011, connecting

Ebrington Square Ebrington Square is a public space and tourist attraction in Derry, Northern Ireland built upon the former army parade ground at Ebrington Barracks. Although located in the Waterside area of Derry, it is connected to the city centre on the west ...

with the rest of the city centre. It is the newest of three bridges in the city, the others being the

Craigavon Bridge The Craigavon Bridge is one of three bridges in Derry, Northern Ireland. It crosses the River Foyle further south than the Foyle Bridge and Peace Bridge. It is one of only a few double-decker road bridges in Europe. It was named after Lord Craiga ...

and the

Foyle Bridge The Foyle Bridge is a bridge in Derry, Northern Ireland. The central cantilever span of the bridge is the second longest on the island of Ireland, at 234 metres (767 ft), and the whole suspended bridge structure including the approach spans ...

. The bridge was designed by

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

, who also designed the

Sutong Yangtze River Bridge The Sutong Yangtze Bridge (; , ) is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yangtze in China between Nantong and Changshu, a satellite city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province. Design and construction The Sutong Yangtze River Bridge was designed by Dr. ...

, and

Wilkinson Eyre Architects WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ha ...

, who also designed the

Gateshead Millennium Bridge The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne between Gateshead arts quarter on the south bank and Newcastle upon Tyne's Quayside area on the north bank. It was the first tilting bridge ever t ...

The bridge was opened to the public by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy,

Johannes Hahn Johannes Hahn (born 2 December 1957) is an Austrian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Budget and Administration under Ursula von der Leyen since 1 December 2019. He previously served as European Commissioner for European Ne ...

; accompanied by the First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson and

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness ( ga, Séamus Máirtín Pacelli Mag Aonghusa; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman from Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during ...

; and the Irish Taoiseach

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

. It is intended to improve relations between the largely unionist Waterside on the east bank with the largely nationalist Cityside on the west bank, by improving access between these areas, as part of wider regeneration plans. The bridge also provides a crossing over the railway line approaching Waterside station. The asymetrical bridge, which is long and metre wide, is supported by two sloping pillars and symbolises a coming-together of the two communities. Its curved footpath, track and cycleway link the Guildhall, in the centre of the city, with

in the Waterside area, and

St. Columb's Park St. Columb’s Park is a municipal park in Derry, Northern Ireland. The park is named after St. Columba, who is the city's patron saint. The park contains the ruins of a medieval church, an 18th century manor house, as well as many modern amenitie ...

Funding

The bridge was funded jointly by the Department for Social Development (NI), the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government along with matching funding, totalling £14 million, from the SEUPB Peace III programme. Foyle Bridge Derry at Dusk

References

{{River item box , River =

, upstream =

, upsub , downstream =

, downsub = , type = , thisis = Peace Bridge (Foyle) , location = 2011 establishments in Northern Ireland Bridges in Northern Ireland Bridges completed in 2011 Buildings and structures in Derry (city) Tourist attractions in Derry (city) Pedestrian bridges in Northern Ireland Cable-stayed bridges in Ireland Derry (city) Cyclist bridges in the United Kingdom