The first sod has been turned on the construction of the iconic new Salmon Weir Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge – the first bridge to span the Corrib in over 30 years.

The new bridge will draw pedestrians and cyclists and facilitate a seamless and natural flow from either side of the river, while creating an iconic focal point for locals and tourists alike to take in the views of the River Corrib, the Salmon Weir, the Cathedral, wildlife, natural and built heritage in the area – providing not only a piece of transport infrastructure, but an architectural and urban amenity space.

Speaking about the new bridge, Mr Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, commented, “Galway City Council is delighted to celebrate this milestone event in the delivery of an iconic new bridge for the people of Galway. This world-class bridge will remove current conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists, and traffic, and will enhance links between both sides of the river, as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200 year old bridge. Galway City Council welcomes the support of the National Transport Authority, and the European Commission, through European Regional Development Funding, facilitated by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly”.

Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton said, “I am delighted to see construction commencing on the Salmon Weir Cycling and Walking Bridge. Anyone who has, like me, walked across the old bridge, will have been conscious that one slip could lead to a collision given how narrow the footpaths are. This new shared-use pedestrian and cycle bridge at the Salmon Weir Bridge will bring a number of significant benefits to Galway City, including offering a dedicated safe crossing point for pedestrians and cyclists alike. This is one of over 1,200 projects across the length and breadth of the country to receive targeted funding towards making walking and cycling in our villages, towns and cities safer, more sustainable and enjoyable. As we continue to meet our commitment of spending almost €1 million on walking and cycling projects each day, I am delighted to see projects like this progress to construction. I look forward to seeing many more such projects commencing not only in Galway but all around the country.”

Mr David Minton, Director of the Northern & Western Regional Assembly welcomed the progress on the city connectivity project as part of an NWRA led €28 million euro investment in urban development across the Northern and Western Region.

Planning consent for the new bridge was received from An Bord Pleanála on 16 August 2021. The tender for construction was issued on 3 December 2021, with a contractor appointed in March 2022. Advance works, such as tree felling, was successfully completed before the end of February 2022. It is anticipated that the bridge will be substantially complete by early 2023.

The project is funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Designated Urban Centre Grant Scheme (DUCGS) and Galway City Council. The ERDF fund is administered by the Northern & Western Regional Assembly.

The Project is one of the NWRA’s capital flagship projects within urban centres. Under this Scheme a total of €28,000,000 was approved to support seven projects in our region including Galway.

• The European Commission has approved a new Regional Aid Map for Ireland
• Such a map defines the Irish regions eligible for regional investment aid up to 2027
• Most of the Local Election Areas of the Northern and Western Region will be eligible for regional aid

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) welcomes the new Regional Aid Map for Ireland for the period of 2022 to 2027. The Regional Aid Map identifies the Irish regions eligible for regional investment aid and also defines the maximum aid intensities for enterprises operating within the eligible regions.

Under the new map, the size of Ireland’s population that will be allowed to receive regional investment aid has been reduced from 51% to 35.9%, with the majority of the Local Elections Areas based in the Northern and Western Region eligible for regional aid from the State.

The aid intensity is the maximum amount of State aid that can be granted per enterprise – expressed as a percentage of eligible investment costs – and such aid aims to increase the investment credentials of eligible regions and reduce regional imbalances in Member States. The aid intensity that will apply for enterprises operating within the eligible Local Election Areas of the Northern and Western Region would be 15%, while the aid intensities can be increased by 10 percentage points for investments made by medium-sized enterprises and by 20 percentage points for investments made by small-sized enterprises.

Commenting, Cathaoirleach of the NWRA, Cllr Christy Hyland, said:

“The publication of the new Regional Aid Map for Ireland is to be welcomed as it acknowledges the significant economic challenges experienced by the Northern and Western Region’s economy in recent years and provides a form of “Positive Discrimination” towards our region.

Although these types of measures will not solve all of the region’s economic challenges, such regional aid will be an important policy instrument in growing our existing enterprise base, supporting future investment in the region and reducing regional disparities that exist in Ireland.

Therefore, it is imperative that the government fully utilises the potential of regional investment aid, as a means of implementing the vision and objectives of the National Planning Framework and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy of the Northern and Western Region”.

Cllr Hyland added that the Regional Aid Map was determined by a host of indicators; one of which was the Regional Assemblies “COVID-19 Regional Economic Analysis”, which showed that the Northern and Western Region – in terms of commercial units and out of the 3 NUTS 2 Regions of Ireland – was the most exposed to the economic impact of COVID-19 at the time. The use of such a publication reinforces the value of the Assembly’s research capacity in informing policymakers and supporting balanced regional development in Ireland.

Source: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. “Local Election Areas” marked in sky blue eligible for regional investment aid