Derry's iconic Foyle Bridge celebrates 40th anniversary

The sky slowly evolved from a light blue to a striking red, orange, and yellow as the sun began to set behind the Carndonagh mountains.

Looking over his shoulder as he exited Madam’s Bank to trudge back to his grandparents house, he could not help but stop and admire the view.

The painting-like image had the child awestruck while he admired the rolling hills, the mirage-like image from the river Foyle, and the cars travelling to and from the city across a bridge that had stood there his whole life.

He only ever knew a Derry with two highway bridges; however, many of the city’s population on both sides of the river will remember a time prior to 1984, when the iconic Foyle Bridge did not exist.

The ‘new’ bridge celebrated its 40th birthday on October 17 this year, and since its construction it has been ‘instrumental’ for the city.

Conor Lavery, associate director of Ove Arup & Partners Ltd., the consulting engineers on the Foyle Bridge construction project back in the 1980s, believes the bridge is incredibly sentimental to many within the city.

He said: “Even from the very initial moments, it was clear that the city of Derry took this project.

“When the main steel work spans were brought in, in April 1983, into the Guildhall, parked up outside the Guildhall, and the stories from my colleagues involved at the time were that the local community were in awe of the steel work, the size, and then the main spans were installed on a public holiday in May 1983, so a lot of people went out to look at the main spans being positioned. 

“Derry struggled because it only had one crossing; therefore, you couldn’t get the jobs and the growth effectively on the city side.”

It was identified back in 1967 that a second crossing was essential, and this led to the Department of Environment (NI) Road Service appointing a company now called Mott MacDonald, designers of the Craigavon Bridge, to identify potential areas for the crossing.

Six locations were identified as potential crossing points, but the two preferred positions were at St. Columb’s Park, near where the Peace Bridge is located, and Madam’s Bank, with the decision to ultimately construct it here taking place in 1973 after further assessment.

Famously, construction had taken place in this area previously, with King James II building his boom barrier at Madam’s Bank during the Siege of Derry in 1688–1689.

This structure had a lifespan of less than 105 days, with all those involved in the construction of the Foyle Bridge sure to be happy it outstripped that lifespan significantly.

Mr Lavery said: “When we design bridges, even back when Foyle Bridge was designed, it was designed for 120 years of design life, but I guess what makes Foyle Bridge special is that it was all fabricated out of Harland and Wolff.

“It saw six huge sections for the main steel box girder components, and they were all transported by a barge from Belfast, and then they were lifted into place using a climbing frame system, strand jack.

“At the time the design of the steel work was cutting edge, there had been two bridge collapses in Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire and West Gate in Melbourne, and they were both steel box girders.

“Following on from that, there was a special committee called, and they identified the cause of the failure. 

“There was a lot of concern within the designers and construction industry about using steel box girder construction for that reason, and so Foyle Bridge was designed to the new requirements identified by the committee.

“To bring all of that together, plus the Foyle is very tidal, a challenging environment in which to construct any bridge. So to bring all of that together, it was a tremendous feat of engineering, especially in Ireland at that time.”

For those not old enough to remember a life without the Foyle Bridge and the relief it brought to the Craigavon Bridge upon its opening, they can bear witness to the gridlock and traffic congestion on both sides of the ‘blue’ bridge when the ‘new’ one is closed to imagine what transport routes were like in Derry prior to the year that Terminator hit our film screens, Band Aid released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and Liverpool won their fourth European Cup in the Stadio Olimpico on penalties against Roma.

However, since the opening of the bridge, it has helped further the development of the city on both sides.

Mr Lavery said: “The Foyle Bridge has been instrumental, because, like we always say, nobody ever regrets driving over a new bridge or tunnel. 

“Infrastructure changes lives, almost always for the better, and it creates new opportunities, and bridges, in this case, draw cars and lorries in its traffic, but then linked to that you have industry and jobs, and then linked to that is residential homes.

So, I think if you go back to chart the growth of the city in terms of residential areas, then you can see it is all leading out towards the lough towards Foyle Bridge. 

“If you look at all the new schools, industries, and homes that you have got leading on the approaches to the bridge, if you were to chart why they are there, it is all because of Foyle Bridge and the fact that people are then able to quickly navigate their way across the river to the city.

“John Hume was instrumental in terms of seeing the vision for a ring road going round the back of Derry, almost leading into Donegal, plus then you just feed up so much land for redevelopment and the growth that the city was then pushed out that way because there was no land for growth of the city on the other side towards the Strabane Road.”

The Nobel Prize winner was the Member of Parliament for Foyle when the bridge was opened, and the Mayor of Derry was John Tierney.

Mr Hume unfortunately did not get to celebrate his iconic birthday for the ‘new’ bridge as he sadly passed away on August 3, 2020; however, however Mr Tierney managed to celebrate the momentous occasion on October 17.

Becoming the first bridge in Ireland to be built according to a "Design and Construct" system, with a reported cost of £15.76 million, the Foyle Bridge has played a part in every Derry citizen’s lives from the highs to the lows; everyone will have a memory with the piece of infrastructure.

Colum Eastwood, the current MP for Foyle, may outdate the Foyle Bridge by 18 months, but he does not remember a time without it.

He said: “It’s hard to believe that Derry’s ‘new’ bridge is 40 years old. I’ve been using it for my entire life and can’t imagine our city without it. The bridge is an important connection between the city and waterside of Derry and to other parts of the North and is used by thousands of people every single day.”

While the current Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr, was in Derry when the Foyle Bridge was officially opened, she has read with great interest about the significance of the occasion and the importance of the Foyle Bridge to the people of Derry and the wider region.

Cllr Barr said: “The Foyle Bridge is a very impressive piece of road infrastructure that was built 40 years ago and since then continues to be an iconic landmark associated with the city. Back in 1984, when it was built, it was a much-needed piece of infrastructure that was constructed to alleviate traffic congestion and also provide important connectivity and linkages to and from the city. At one time it was the longest bridge on the island of Ireland, and its unique design meant that large ships could pass below it.

“Many people have fond memories of seeing large pieces of the bridge being transported up the River Foyle as part of its construction, and it's generally felt that the bridge has had a very positive impact on providing important linkages with the Waterside and the rest of the North.”

Derry has since added a third bridge to its collection with the construction of the Peace Bridge in 2011. There will remain a special place for the ‘new’ bridge in the hearts of many a person that calls Derry home.

As it continues to carry people to and from work, school, and social activities, never looking for the praise or recognition that it deserves for how it transformed the city for the better and how it will continue to fulfil its purpose.