Dublin City Council officially named the Rosie Hackett Bridge, Dublin’s new public-transport priority bridge, today (Tuesday, 20 May). The Rosie Hackett Bridge spans the River Liffey between Marlborough St on the north side and Hawkins St on the south side. The bridge was developed by Dublin City Council in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA). It was project-managed by Dublin City Council Road Design Division and designed by Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers and Seán Harrington Architects. Graham Projects Ltd began construction of the bridge in September 2011. The NTA funded its cost of approximately €13.5 million. [caption id="attachment_14157" align="alignright" width="573"] Rosie Hackett (1893-1976)[/caption] Dublin’s Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn officially named the bridge in honour of the trade union activist who was present at historic events at nearby Liberty Hall during the 1913 Lock Out and the Easter Rising. She served with Countess Markievicz in the Rising and was imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol for 10 days as a result. Several of her relatives attended the naming ceremony. The bridge is essentially designed for sustainable travel users – pedestrians, cyclists and those using public transport. From 6am on Wednesday, 21 May 2014, you will be able to use the bridge if you are walking, cycling or on a bus (Dublin Bus Routes 14, 15, 27 and 151). Taxis and emergency vehicles can also use the bridge, and south-band LUAS trams will use the bridge from 2017. The bridge will deliver a number of public-transport improvements. It is a central piece of infrastructure in the Luas Cross City project and many southbound cyclists will now use Rosie Hackett and avoid O’Connell Bridge and its heavy traffic. The new bridge will also facilitate users of the dublinbikes scheme as it expands into the Docklands. Dublin City Council introduced a right turn ban from Custom House Quay to Talbot Memorial Bridge on 12 May. This created a contra-flow bus lane, giving buses priority access to the new bridge from Busaras and the City Quays. Around 6,000 people an hour walk over O’Connell St Bridge – approximately 10% are now expected to use the Rosie Hackett Bridge instead. “The new bridge is unique in that it’s the only one in Dublin built exclusively for the use of public transport, pedestrians and cyclists,” said Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, who was also present at the naming ceremony. Rosie Hackett’s nephew John Gray said that Dublin City Council’s decision to name the bridge after Rosie was a tribute to people all over the world who have fought against injustice and inequality. The shortlist was made up of Rosie Hackett, Kay Mills, Willie Birmingham, Bram Stoker and Frank Duff. The Rosie Hackett Bridge is the 21st bridge over the Liffey between Chapelizod and Dublin Port. It is the first new bridge in Dublin City since the Samuel Beckett Bridge (2009). The bridge is 47m long and 26m wide and is the only city-centre bridge that is currently named after a woman. For photos, videos, stories and more on the history and engineering of Dublin’s bridges, including Rosie Hackett, see www.bridgesofdublin.ie.