Cork City Council has reopened a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the river Lee to the public following the completion of temporary repairs to damage caused by alleged joyriders who drove a scissor lift on to the structure.
Several wooden decking panels on the upriver side of the Mary Elmes Bridge linking St Patrick’s Quay and Merchants Quay were cracked when the heavy machine was allegedly driven on to the bridge by joyriders on Sunday night.
Some of the metal decking panels fell into the river, leaving a gaping hole in the floor of the bridge, making it unsafe for the thousands of pedestrians and cyclists who use it daily.
Representatives of the bridge manufacturers, Keating Construction visited the site with city council engineers on Tuesday to conduct a full assessment of the damage and to consider repair options to the bridge, which was installed and opened in 2019.
RM Block
Pending permanent repairs, city council engineers have now replaced the damaged sections of decking with timber panels and as a temporary measure to facilitate the reopening of the bridge, which spans some 66 metres of the north channel of the Lee.
According to Cork City Council, the seating area on the bridge will remain closed, and the pedestrian handrail on the St Patrick’s Quay side, which was also damaged, will also remain closed off until the damage there is fully repaired.
The council said it could be several weeks before the work is complete, and while the full cost has yet to finalised, the council will bear the costs of the repair work.
A spokesperson for Cork City Council apologised for the inconvenience caused by the temporary bridge closure over recent days.
Meanwhile, two men arrested and charged in connection with the theft and driving of the scissor lift from St Patrick’s Quay were remanded in custody by Judge Mary Dorgan to appear again at Cork District Court next Tuesday.
Kyle Boyle (31), a native of Donegal but with an address c/o of the Cork Simon Community, was accused of causing criminal damage to the bridge and a metal bollard at Oliver Plunkett Street and five counts of dangerous driving of the scissor lift.
A second accused Patrick Costin (18), a native of Mayfield in Cork but also with an address c/o the Cork Simon Community, was charged with criminal damage and unlawful carriage on the scissor lift around Cork city centre.
