Summary
On 19 August 2025, a fire broke out under the bridge between the inner and outer docks at George’s Dock, Dublin 1. The bridge was damaged beyond repair causing disruption to road and light rail transport in the city centre.
ROD and JONS Civil Engineering Ltd (JCEL) were engaged on an emergency Design and Build (D + B) basis by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to replace the bridge as early as practicable to restore connectivity and to ensure that Luas light rail system could resume service to the Point.
The bridge was reopened on 27 November 2025, following the successful completion of a 12-week demolition, design, and construction programme.
Highlight
The prompt replacement of the bridge was a source of great relief to local residents, businesses, workers and commuters, and was made possible by the extraordinary level of collaboration between TII, JCEL, Banagher Precast Concrete, the specialists involved, and our own design team.
I want to acknowledge the excellent partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland and all stakeholders involved. The way everyone pulled together ensured we reached this day safely and on schedule.
Ben Dwars
Managing Director of Transdev Dublin Light Rail
Solution
A single span, piled integral bridge, providing a clear span of 18.2m and a total width of 11.6m, was proposed. This solution eliminated the need for bearings, joints and abutment galleries and enabled the bridge to be constructed without impacting the adjacent historic walls.
Within a week of deciding to proceed with the integral bridge design, the first design package, including pile setting-out and reinforcement details, was delivered to JCEL. The first pile was installed just three days later. This momentum continued across subsequent design packages for the beams, pile caps, diaphragms and deck slab, ensuring timely delivery of construction information.
Sustainable design
To preserve the appearance of the original structure, we reused as many of the above deck elements as possible, retaining, refurbishing and reinstating the parapets, granite kerbs, and paving slabs on the new bridge.
Challenges
A highly constrained site
The need to maintain and protect adjacent existing structures during construction, leaving limited space between the existing dock walls and the original bridge foundation for the installation of the bridge piles, presented a significant challenge for the project team. ROD’s geotechnical team overcame this challenge by using extensive historical ground investigation data from nearby projects and probing carried out by the piling contractor to inform the design of the foundations, which used 7 No. 600mm diameter, 12m-long continuous flight auger (CFA) piles per abutment.
Volume of existing services
The volume of existing services added to the complexity of the project, with the bridge accommodating 55 various diameter service ducts within the verges and below deck. To minimise impact beyond the bridge extents, we undertook multiple surveys to validate reinforcement detailing in the bridge supports.
Services provided:
- Civil engineering design
- Bridge engineering design
- Construction supervision
