Wolfe Tone Pedestrian Bridge, Galway City

OVERVIEW

The Wolfe Tone Bridge is a vital link across the River Corrib for Galway City, connecting the west of city to the east. The bridge is a busy thoroughfare for pedestrians heading between the city centre and the West End, Salthill and the Claddagh area. The Galway Transport Strategy identified this bridge as the bridge with the most trips within the city centre, carrying twice as much volume of traffic as the Salmon Weir Bridge and six times more volume than
nearby O’Brien’s Bridge.

Waterbodies present within the vicinity of the bridge include the River Corrib and Corrib Estuary, which the bridge crosses. Both the River Corrib and Corrib Estuary form part of the Lough Corrib SAC and Galway Bay Complex SAC. Due to the nature of the designed works taking place above the River Corrib and Corrib Estuary, there was potential for interaction to occur from the construction phase of the works primarily relating to the potential for effect on water quality, as well as disturbance of species due to noise and vibration.