Historic pedestrian bridge is a danger to public

Concerns have been raised over the condition of a pedestrian bridge that provides what a local councillor described as "a vital connection" at a recent council meeting.

Cllr Pat Dunphy raised the issue at the January meeting of Piltown Municipal District.

He described the bridge that connects Kilkenny and Tipperary, as “a vital connection bridge and a lot of people use it” but said it looked “pretty shook”. 

John Tennyson, Area Engineer, told the councillors that neither Kilkenny nor Tipperary county councils have any record of the bridge being under their jurisdiction.

The bridge passes over the Lingaun River. It was originally constructed in the 1930s. In 1964, an application was submitted to the Department of Local Government to build a new bridge alongside the existing one. It was a joint application by Kilkenny County Council and Carrick-on-Suir Urban Council. They planned for it to cost £13,000.

Mr Tennyson said that, based on this history, trying to fix the bridge would require a joint application from Kilkenny and Tipperary county councils. However, the two local councils have not yet identified a funding stream for the new bridge.

In the meantime, Mr Tennyson said, “Ultimately, the bridge is not safe.” 

His team are considering carrying out an independent structural assessment.

“We expect that the bridge will be condemned.” 

He told the councillors that there is evidence that people are still using the bridge, which is a “significant” health and safety concern.

Cllr Dunphy said he would not be “at all in favour of the bridge being knocked down”. 

Mr Tennyson replied, “If the bridge is condemned, there’s no other outcome.”