Tymon footbridge to be re-opened temporarily

THE temporary reopening of a footbridge that traverses the M50 at the National Basketball Arena in Tymon Park has been welcomed by a community group.

As previously reported in The Echo, the footbridge had originally been scheduled to close for two months, with an expected reopening on August 19.

Pedestrians had been advised to take a detour through several underpasses carrying the M50/N81 junction for the duration of the closure.

The works are primarily to renew the waterproofing of the bridge deck structure and additional minor maintenance works, but the closure of the busy bridge caused frustration in the community.

Security fencing at both ends of the bridge had been removed without authorisation last week, and pedestrians resumed using the bridge as they had seen no signs of work at the site.

In a statement to The Echo on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for South Dublin County Council confirmed that the bridge has been temporarily reopened between work phases.

“The contractor has temporarily re-opened the footbridge as it is the CIF holiday period and their staff [are] on annual leave,” stated the spokesperson.

“The surfacing works are not complete, but temporary access has been provided to assist the local community.

“Further works will be carried out in the coming weeks which will necessitate the reimplementation of the bridge closure.

“Works are scheduled to be completed within the closure period and the bridge permanently re-opened by August 19.”

Brian MacCormaic from the Friends of Tymon Park group has welcomed the move, saying it’s a positive development for park users.

“I’m delighted,” he said. “It’s what should’ve been done in the first place: do the preparatory work, open it afterwards, then close it again to finish it.

“We fully understand that the bridge has to be closed for maintenance, but to close it when there’s no one going in and working on it seems ridiculous.”