News

Ha’penny Bridge wins award

DIT’s CREST Centre helped restore the Ha’penny Bridge in Dublin and the project team won a prestigious award for their efforts.

On the 21st of December 2001, the Ha'penny Bridge was re-opened to the public by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Michael Mulcahy. The opening concluded the first restoration project of its kind for the Ha'penny Bridge in its two hundred year history (see picture below).

The Dublin City Manager and Town Clerk, John FitzGerald asked Enterprise Ireland's Coatings Research Centre (CRC) (now DIT's CREST Centre) to provide consultative support to the coating operations involved in the restoration. The CRC had been involved with other prominent restoration projects in its history such as the restoration of the Turner Curvilinear Greenhouse in the Botanic Gardens, restored in 1995. The Ha'penny Bridge, beloved icon of the city of Dublin, was officially named Wellington Bridge after the 'Iron Duke' when it was opened in 1816.

A cast-iron structure manufactured at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, England, the bridge acquired its unofficial monniker from the toll paid to cross the river - one old half penny. It was erected by Alderman Beresford at a cost of £3,816.11s.6d. William Walsh operated a ferry service at the time at the Bagnio Crossing (Temple Bar area). However, the leaky state of his ferries forced Dublin Corporation to issue an ultimatum, which has left us with the Ha'penny Bridge. It found a place in the hearts and minds of Dubliners and visitors alike and until 2000 was the only pedestrian bridge crossing on the Liffey.

The CREST team members involved in the restoration of the bridge were Jim Murphy, Helen McAuliffe, Paul Quinn and John Colreavy. They provided consultation and supervision of all painting operations. The polyurethane paint system was supplied by General Paints of Celbridge, an indigenous Irish paint manufacturer. A laboratory evaluation programme confirmed the high performance capability of the system and identified incompatibilities between some of the additional materials being specified for which suitable alternatives were found.

Supervision duties took team members into Harland & Wolff Shipbuilders in the heart of Belfast where the new bridge decks were constructed and painted. They also spent time at the site works of Gabriel Hughes Paint Contractors in Co Tyrone making sure the refurbishment of the railings went according to plan. They spent many late nights supervising the refurbishment of the bridge trusses which remained on-site back in Dublin. The project was considered anoverwhelming success by Pat Gorman, Resident Engineer of Dublin City Council, who remarked "the most important decision taken on the project was the recruitment of independent corrosion consultants".

The project was awarded a European Restoration Bronze Medal (Nostrada) in September 2003.