The Peace Bridge is a cycle and foot bridge across the River Foyle in Derry, Northern Ireland. It opened on 25 June 2011, connecting Ebrington Square with the rest of the city centre. It is the newest of three bridges in the city, the others being the Craigavon Bridge and the Foyle Bridge. The 235 metres (771 ft) bridge was designed by AECOM, who also designed the Sutong Yangtze River Bridge, and Wilkinson Eyre Architects, who also designed the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
The bridge was opened to the public by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn; accompanied by the First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness; and the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny. It is intended to improve relations between the largely unionist 'Waterside' with the largely nationalist 'Cityside', by improving access between these areas, as part of wider regeneration plans. The bridge also provides a crossing over the railway line approaching Waterside station.
The bridge was funded jointly by the Department for Social Development (NI), the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government along with matching funding, totalling £14 million, from the SEUPB Peace III programme.
The cache:
Not a typical container but one I hope you'll enjoy a lot! I am fortunate to have grown up in Derry-Londonderry and I had the honour of rowing under the Peace Bridge as part of the flotilla present at it's opening on the 25th of June 2011. For many, the Peace Bridge and the year the city had as UK City of Culture in 2013 represent how far it has come in recent times. As a result, I concluded that such an iconic landmark needed a geocache, and this is it! I hope you enjoy finding it as much as I enjoy contemplating how far our city has come every time I walk across this beautiful bridge!