‘Not as much spent on Brooklyn Bridge as new Castlebar bridge’ – Durcan

‘Not as much spent on Brooklyn Bridge as new Castlebar bridge’ - Durcan


Edwin McGreal

A CASTLEBAR Town Councillor has questioned the cost of the new footbridge over Lough Lannagh in Castlebar, claiming that ‘not as much was spent on Brooklyn Bridge’ in New York.
Cllr Frank Durcan was speaking at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the authority where he asked for the results on the ground test carried out for the bridge which will allow for a walking path right around the town lake.
“I met the people who did the ground work by accident,” Cllr Durcan told the meeting.
“They  didn’t know who I was but they said the [town] council must be awash with money to have them down from Roscommon doing this work and putting in two blobs of concrete on either side that you could have put any bridge in the world on it. They said they were paid €42,500 for the job.
“There’s no substitute for common sense. A hymac would do the job there very quickly because anyone who knows that ground knows it is good, solid limestone.”
In response Town Manager Seamus Granahan said the council would be in trouble if the bridge wasn’t done to a high specification and that if there was a problem with the stability of the bridge, the council would be the first to be blamed.