Overview

Frank Sherwin Bridge spans the River Liffey west of Dublin’s historic centre, crossing from the ever busy Victoria Quay and Heuston Station area to Wolfe Tone Quay on the north river bank. A simple bridge, it was envisaged from the outset that it would fulfil a simple purpose - to bring more fluidity and control to the movement of traffic along the Dublin quays, where traffic jams were, at times, the stuff of legend. The closure to heavy traffic of Seán Heuston Bridge, a mere 65 metres away, had compounded the problem.

Such was the urgency that this bridge had a commendably short gestation period - from the initial proposal in 1977, to commencement in 1980, to opening in August 1982. The Frank Sherwin Bridge is of reinforced concrete, a raw material readily sourced in Ireland. The bridge was designed by Richard J. Fowler of Dublin Corporation Road Design Section and the contractor was Irishenco, an Irish firm founded in 1940. The final price for building the bridge was IR£1.8 million. The piers of the bridge stand on rock foundations in the river and support three spans, while the deck comprises one continuous piece of reinforced concrete which was cast in situ. The proportions of the bridge are pleasing to the eye, making up somewhat for the bland, greyness of its appearance. Each side span is 14 metres long, the centre span in 22 metres and the deck is just under 20 metres wide. On opening, the bridge was awarded the Irish Concrete Society Award and a plaque on the bridge records this. Another plaque records in English and Irish the opening of the Frank Sherwin Bridge, in August 1982.