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Opinion
What strange but opulent times we live in, a time when the Stormont Executive tell us that they have no money, but yet the Newry area can look forward to not one but two multi million pound bridges being built over the Newry River and Newry Ship Canal, just a few miles apart. One open to allow tall ships in to the Albert Basin, one closed to make sure they don't get in! Any wonder many Newry people are confused about which bridge is which and what is or isn't affordable!
An Open and Shut case
You just couldn't make it up. The 'Fianna Fáil Bridge' also known as the Narrow Water Bridge, a creation of Fianna Fáil together with a little help from their in-government coalition, is designed to enhance north-south links via road and water, with an opening bridge allowing ships all the way up Newry Ship Canal into the heart of Newry City. Meanwhile the 'Sinn Fein Bridge' otherwise known as the more convoluting Southern Relief Road Bridge is designed to block the possibility of north-south water links, with it's fixed structure confirmed by Sinn Fein Minister for Infrastructure John O'Dowd in late April.
On the one hand you have Fianna Fáil a party which doesn't have a presence here, keeping open an all Ireland link for ships to travel from Carlingford Lough (and the world) to Newry, and on the other hand the party who relish forging all Ireland links, shutting the aforementioned shipping link via Ireland's oldest canal forever.
While Fianna Fáil are all too happy to revel in the glory of their 'poster boy' Narrow Water Bridge, a "cable-stayed bridge with rolling bascule opening span that enables tall ships, leisure craft and other marine vessels access to the Victoria Lock and the Albert Basin in Newry, Co Down", Sinn Féin are more low key, their minister promising a fixed bridge over Newry Ship Canal that will make sure those pesky Fianna Fáil tall ships and leisure craft never make it here to spend money in our city.
It's all the tories fault! One Sinn Féin MLA is quoted as saying "significant financial constraints placed on the Executive due to Tory Government underfunding has meant a lifting bridge isn't affordable." A lifting bridge according to DfI would cost an extra £10m (Approx £5m for bridge and £5m for maintenance) - less than 10% of the total project cost to preserve the heritage of our city.
Ultimately for Newry City, if an opening bridge cannot be included, the road should not be built at all. Fifty years ago the heart of Newry was ripped out to build the Abbey Way dual carriageway to get traffic to Warrenpoint quicker. Are we forever condemned to make the same mistake again?
For people that say an opening bridge would be a waste of money, we would say that a non opening bridge is a much larger waste of money. After all at least €60m is being spent on the opening Narrow Water Bridge to allow ships into the canal as well as half a million pounds spent in recent years at Victoria Lock.
Just one prestigious maritime festival in Newry could bring in millions to the area and local maritime and inland waterways enthusiasts have the skills in spades to make such a thing happen.
The Cost
The 12m high fixed bridge over Newry Ship Canal will bring to an end nearly 300 years of maritime heritage and that's the ultimate and only cost Newry people should be concerned about (ships currently at the Quays would need a 35m clearance). Financially though the Narrow Water Bridge was expected to cost €60m* as of 2022. The Irish Government have pledged to build it in February 2024 as part of its Shared Island initiative. The Southern Relief Road with the proposed fixed bridge is estimated to cost £110m to £130m (April 2024 www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk )
The SRR is being progressed principally to take heavy goods vehicular traffic from Warrenpoint Port across to the A1 and in 2021 £93.4m was allocated to it as part of the Belfast Region City Deal. The Narrow Water Bridge is being seen as a tourism bridge and will have segregated car, cycle and pedestrian lanes.
(It should be noted that had instead an SDLP minister been the one to confirm the plan to put a fixed bridge over the canal we would have been calling it the 'SDLP Bridge'.)
