Waterford did not have a bridge over the Suir until 1794. The
river at Waterford is wide and deep and it was regarded as a huge
job to build a bridge across it. Before 1794 access to Waterford
City from many areas was by ferry. The principle ferries, across
the Suir were those at Waterford City, Passage East (still in
operation) and Granagh (where the new bridge is under
construction).
In 1770 there had been a proposal by Thomas Covey for a stone
bridge but this fell through. By 1786 a body of prominent civic
office holders were nominated to open subscriptions to build a
bridge. These subscribers were known as; 'The Commissioners for
Building a Bridge Over the River Suir in Waterford'! Meanwhile the
renowned bridge builder Lemuel Cox of Malden, Massachusetts was
invited to build the proposed bridge. In 1785 Cox built his first
bridge from Boston to Charlestown, across the Charlestown
River.
Before coming to Waterford he had already built the Foyle Bridge
in Derry which he finished in 1792. After Waterford, Cox went on to
build bridges in New Ross, Wexford, Enniscorthy and Portuma. The
site chosen for the bridge was opposite Love Lane (Bridge Street).
The bridge was constructed out of American oak. The bottom of the
river was levelled and trestles were placed on the river bed.
Lemuel Cox was presented with the freedom of the City of Waterford
in a silver box in recognition of his work on the bridge.
The Timber Bridge was known locally as 'Timbertoes'. The Timber
Bridge was 832 feet long (it was later reduced to 734 feet by quay
extensions), 40 feet wide and consisted of stone supports and 40
sets of piers of oak. The depth of water at lowest ebb was 37 feet.
The width of the carriage was 26 feet and the two foot paths were 7
feet wide. It cost £14,000. The original Timber Bridge
stopped ships sailing up river beyond the bridge. By 1800 a draw
bridge was constructed with an opening span of 20 feet. By 1854
this was found to be inadequate and the opening was enlarged to 40
feet – which allowed paddle steamers to pass.
The bridge was a toll bridge. This was unpopular with the
citizens of Waterford but despite public complaints, Timbertoes
remained a toll bridge for over 100 years. In 1906 the Corporation
promoted a 'Bridge Act' that empowered them to give notice to the
Bridge proprietors to purchase the bridge. By 1907 the Corporation
purchased the Toll Bridge for £63,000, making it a toll free
bridge from midnight on the 31st December 1907. Soon a new bridge
was needed. It was to be constructed of fero-concrete by the firm
Kinnear, Moodie and Co., from Glasgow. On November 1910 a temporary
bridge was started as the new bridge was on the same site as the
old. The temporary bridge was finished in March of 1911. The new
Bridge was 700 feet long and 48 feet wide. The opening span was 80
feet. The total cost was £71,000. On 10th February 1913 the
bridge was opened by John Redmond M.P. and leader of the Irish
Parliamentary Party, It was subsequently called 'The John Redmond
Bridge'.
By 1981 the Redmond Bridge was branded dangerous and a new
bridge was need. The bridge was to have four car lanes and would be
built in two stages. The first stage began in August 1982; the two
lanes were constructed by the side of Redmond Bridge, this phase
was opened on 22nd October 1984.
The main contractor was Irishenco Ltd. of Dublin and the tender
was £7.9 million. The consulting engineers were Rendel,
Palmer and Triffton of London. The opening span was 40 metres long
and weighted 310 tones and was subcontracted out to Hollandia-Kloos
of Rotterdam. The entire opening span was transported to Waterford
from Rotterdam and was lifted into position by a 400 ton capacity
floating crane. The Brother Edmund Ignatius Bridge was opened on
22nd October 1984 by Mr. Liam Kavanagh T.D.
The following morning work began on the demolition of the
remains of the Redmond Bridge. Some of the old bridge was used for
filling and other pieces were claimed for souvenir purposes. A
licence was obtained from the Department of the Environment to dump
the rest at sea beyond Hook Head.
The cache is not on the bridge itself but approx 100 m away. The
site gives a good view of the present structure. If you happen to
walk across the bridge and look upstream (west) you will see the
new river crossing under construction. Further in the distance you
will see Sliabh na mBan in Co Tipperary. (Information from
Waterford City Library).