Pedestrians will be able to cross the new €800,000 Finn Footbridge between Ballybofey and Stranorlar soon after it is officially opened next week.
The bridge over the River Finn is set to be officially opened on Monday 19 November 2018 at 2pm.
The provision of Finn Footbridge came about as a result of obvious safety concerns with pedestrian movements over the existing bridge between Ballybofey and Stranorlar.
In recent years, the council has sought to place greater emphasis on the safe and efficient movement of pedestrians and cyclists through local urban environments.
The design and construction was commissioned in 2016. The most favourable option involved a board-walk type solution, whereby the new footbridge utilizes the existing masonry arch bridge as a support structure, tying into and bearing directly off the existing bridge.
The footbridge has an overall length of approximately 60.00m and width of 3.00m. It has taken approximately one year to complete the construction of the footbridge and ancillary works and delivered at a cost of just over €800,000.
The main structural load carrying elements of the new footbridge are of protected steel construction, while the decking, carrying the foot traffic, is formed from lighter aluminium. The 1.4m high pedestrian parapets and railings are formed from stainless steel. The existing parapets have been partially reconstructed from locally sourced schist and finished with a cut limestone coping.
The new structure is set to bring immediate benefits to pedestrians, and in particular the hundreds of school pupils, that cross the bridge on a daily basis.
