• Structure No. 1 – Whelan's Bridge Viaduct
• Earthworks and Roadworks – Cut 2 Area
• Earthworks and Roadworks – Cut 3 Area
• Structure No. 57 – Bawnfune Overbridge
• Structure No. 9 – Western Link Junction & Overbridge
• Structure No. 16 – River Suir Bridge
• Grannagh Interchange and related Structures
• Structure No. 40 – Blackwater River Bridge
• Structure No. 41 – Dunkitt Road Overbridge
• Structure No. 26 – Mullinabro Road Overbridge
• Structure No. 28 – Ballyrobin Road Overbridge
• Structure No. 32 – Airmount Road Overbridge
• Slieverue and Luffany Roundabouts and Slieverue Link Road

Structures:

River Suir Bridge

The N25 Waterford Bypass route crosses the River Suir near the bend in the river at Granny. This necessitates a new River Suir Bridge. Following an examination of a number of different kinds of bridge, a cable-stayed bridge which virtually crosses the river in a single leap has been selected. When constructed, the 230 metre main span will be the longest span bridge in Ireland.

The cable-stayed bridge with its 100 metre tall tower, will be a landmark structure for Waterford City and surrounding areas. The tower will be constructed on the south side of the river. A series of “stay cables” will fan out from the top of the tower to support the main span at intervals of about 10 metres. Corresponding cables fan to the back spans using the weight of the back span and anchor piles to balance the forces and “keep the tower standing straight”.

The cable-stayed design removes the need for intermediate supports or piers in the river and permits a longer deck and a reduced deck thickness. This key factor gives rise to many of the benefits of a cable stayed bridge. There is little or no construction in the fast flowing and deep river. There is no need even for temporary supports within the river as the deck can be progressively supported on the cables. This reduces time and cost risks usually associated with marine construction. It significantly reduces environmental impact in terms of disturbance of the river bed, effect on river flows, and interference with fish, and fishing. Also there are often restrictions on construction within rivers at certain times of the year, (e.g. a particular spawning season) and by reducing construction in the river, the overall time for construction is reduced.

Another advantage of the cable stayed bridge is that the reduced thickness of the bridge deck construction means that there will be a greater clearance for boats and craft to pass under the bridge.

A great deal of thought has gone into the design from the point of view of aesthetics. An asymmetrical fan arrangement has been chosen for the cables with a single ‘A’ frame tower. A twin fan of cables is used to support the deck edges. The converging lines of the ‘A’ frame legs and the “cable net” enhances the towers lofty appearance and gives the structure a slender look. A slight taper of the tower legs from top to bottom subtly expresses the increases in the loads they carry and firmly roots the structure into the ground.

The inner face of the tower legs will be lit by feature lighting. At night time the tower will have a ghost like aura when viewed obliquely at distance, whilst drivers will pass under a sharply defined ‘A’.

This landmark structure reflecting modern “high tech” engineering and graceful and simple aesthetics will become a symbol for the southeast, of which the region can be proud.