The Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge is a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, normally forming a fan-like pattern ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

, and County Louth,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It spans the Boyne River west of Drogheda on the county boundary between County Meath and County Louth and is part of the M1 Northern Motorway. When it opened in June 2003, it was the longest cable-stayed bridge in Ireland until 19 October 2009, when the River Suir Bridge opened on the N25. Due to environmental concerns, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was carried out for the bridge separately from the M1 EIS—the first such formal EIS carried out and published for a bridge in Ireland. The bridge was built from 2000 to 2003. It was designed Roughan & O'Donovan consulting engineers, who were awarded the ACEI Presidential Award in 2005 for the design.

Overview

Designing a road bridge over the Boyne was not an easy task. At the chosen point, upstream from Drogheda, the ground level on the south is elevated, with a sudden drop while the north bank slopes gradually down to the river. The area is environmentally sensitive, especially the reed beds on the north bank and the flora and fauna of Yellow Island in the middle of the river. The area has a rich heritage as it is also situated adjacent to the area in which the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

took place in 1690. The answer was a cable-stayed bridge. Although at a cost of €35 million it would be more expensive than a standard road bridge, it could incorporate a much longer main span without the need for supports in the river, so the engineers could protect the river and the island from any interference. It would also look attractive, with a tall pylon at the south side and cable stays fanning out from it, supporting the main structure. Construction was carried out by

Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company was a UK bridge works and structural steel contractor based in Darlington. It built landmarks including the Victoria Falls Bridge in Zimbabwe; the Tees Transporter Bridge; the Forth Road and Humber suspe ...

. Construction methodology by Richard Hornby & Bruce Ramsay of Cleveland Bridge. The bridge is the first cable stay bridge in the world constructed using the incremental launching method (ILM) for the superstructure erection. The construction was commenced in May 2000 and the bridge opened on 9 June 2003. The bridge is managed under a public-private partnership between the

National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) ( ga, An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) was a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December ...

on behalf of the Irish Government and a private company, Celtic Roads Group. The concession company has an obligation to maintain the road for 30 years. The bridge and motorway are tolled in both directions to finance its construction and maintenance, and to generate profit for Celtic Roads Group. In 2006, the Bridge was awarded the Excellence Award (Civil) from the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland.

Name

In October 2012,

Meath County Council Meath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Mí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Meath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

proposed renaming the Boyne River Bridge after former

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

to honour her contribution to the

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...

. The name ''Mary McAleese Bridge'' was initially proposed, but some felt the name should reflect the local area, so on 8 June 2013 a ceremony was held to rename the bridge the ''Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge''.

References

{{Commons category, Boyne River Bridge Drogheda Bridges completed in 2003 Bridges in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Meath Cable-stayed bridges in Ireland Transport in Drogheda Tourist attractions in County Louth Tourist attractions in County Meath Toll bridges in the Republic of Ireland