Loopline Bridge

Loopline Bridge (or the "Liffey Viaduct") is a railway bridge spanning the River Liffey and several streets in Dublin, Ireland. It joins rail services from south of Dublin to Connolly Station and lines north.

Designed by J. Chaloner Smith (engineer to the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company), the bridge was built in 1891. It consists of wrought iron lattice girders on a double row of piers with five spans. The viaduct is approximately six metres above street level and supports two railway tracks. [http://www.berthamilton.com/13329.pdf "Project history of Dublin’s River Liffey bridges" Bridge Engineering 156 Issue BE4, Phillips & Hamilton] ]

During original planning and construction (in the late 19th century) the project was subject to much opposition and controversy, [Liffey Bridges Survey Team. The Liffey bridges from Islandbridge to Eastlink : a historical and technical report. Dublin: Liberties Association, 1987.] because the structure blocks the view down river to the The Custom House. However, the bridge was deemed necessary as a rail link between north and south Dublin, and to facilitate the movement of transatlantic mail coming from Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) and Queenstown (Cobh).

100 years later, the visage of the bridge remains the subject of some debate. [ [http://www.irish-architecture.com/news/2004/000261.html Irish-architecture.com/news - Hoardings to be cleared from the Loopline bridge] ] Already arguably less attractive [ [http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2004/11/21/story950526759.asp Sunday Business Post - Sunday, November 21, 2004 - Hoardings to be cleared from the Loopline bridge] ] than some of Dublin's other bridges, the façades of the Loopline have been used by Iarnród Éireann for billboard advertising. As of 2006, the company has scaled back the bridge's use for this purpose [ [http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=1599 Archiseek.com - Architectural forum discussion with pictures showing removal of Loopline hoardings] ] to reduce impact on the city skyline, following input from An Bord Pleanála and Dublin City Council. [ [http://www.pleanala.ie/casenum/RL2097.htm An Bord Pleanála - Order and decision regarding advertising on Liffey Viaduct (Loop-line Bridge)] ]

A prominent feature in the city landscape since 1891, the Loopline Bridge appears in one of the most famous literary works associated with Dublin:

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quote=A skiff, a crumpled throwaway, Elijah is coming, rode lightly down the Liffey, under Loopline bridge, shooting the rapids where water chafed around the bridgepiers, sailing eastward past hulls and anchorchains, between the Customhouse old dock and George’s quay.
source=James Joyce, "Ulysses (novel)"|

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