The New Dysart Bridge to Open at 3pm Today

Cllr. Bobby O’Connell welcoming the opening of Dysart Bridge as it was being prepared for opening this morning. ©Photograph: John Reidy
No Tolls here: Ger Fleming from Scartaglin was scattering grass seed on the margins of the road on the sides of Dysart Bridge this morning. ©Photograph: John Reidy
Visibility being improved at Dysart Cross at the Camp Road entrance /exit as the bridge is being prepared for this afternoon’s opening. ©Photograph: John Reidy
Mike Tydings giving a thumbs-up as work winds down on Dysart Bridge before today’s opening. ©Photograph: John Reidy

The new Dysart Bridge will open today at 3pm as last minute parcels of work are carried out on the gleaming, new structure as it stands in huge contrast to the centuries old bridge it replaces.

The opening of the bridge has been welcomed by Cllr. Bobby O’Connell and he praised all involved in the demolition and reconstruction work for the manner in which it was brought in well under the time allotted.

2,500 Vehicles Each Way/Each Day

There was a very real fear of loss and displacement felt by the business community in Castleisland over a volume of traffic which, at best, could only be estimated.

Now, thanks to an unofficial audit of traffic by Kerry County Council over Dysart Bridge, the volume can be chalked down at 2,500 – each day – each way.

Thank or curse the bypass, but much of that traffic will veer off and away up from the Garda Eugene Leonard Roundabout to the Mick Galwey Roundabout in Dooneen – but it’s surely safe to speculate that some of it will wind up in Castleisland town for business reasons.

Flurry of Preparations

Anyway, the €1.5M demolition and reconstruction of Dysart Bridge is on its final few hours before the bridge is open for traffic this afternoon.

There is a flurry of preparation going on that would remind one of the days before the stations in a country house a generation or more ago.

The voices of the people along Camp Road would appear to have been taken seriously as there is work going on there today to improve visibility at the entrance at Dysart Cross.

Three Weeks Ahead

The road is lined from the Garda Eugene Leonard Roundabout to Lisheenbawn Cross and all looks set for a clear run for the bank holiday weekend.

That’s a full three weeks ahead of the estimated opening day of August 25th when the bridge was closed on May 25th

All the road surface works are complete and all that remains is some off road tidying up and moving out of the temporary site office and car park.

You can contact The Maine Valley Post on…
Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com 

Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.

Please Note: A click on any of our adverts will reveal all you need to know about what our advertisers need to tell you.

Copyright Notice: The images and text which appear on The Maine Valley Post site remain the exclusive property of John Reidy, (unless stated otherwise) and are protected under International Copyright laws. Images or text may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission of the author, John Reidy, in this instance. Use of any image as the basis for another photographic concept or illustration (digital, artist rendering or alike) is a violation of International Copyright laws. All images are copyrighted © by John Reidy 2018.