Cycleway bridge shortlisted for prestigious engineering award

The Athlone cycleway bridge is in the running to win ‘Engineering Project of the Year’ at the Irish Building and Design Awards (IBDAs) in Dublin next month. And a new building in Athlone have also been nominated for prizes.

An annual event, the IBDAs “recognise and reward the amazing skills and expertise within the building and design sectors here in Ireland,” according to the event’s organisers.

The cycleway bridge has been shortlisted for ‘Engineering Project of the Year’ alongside the Beaulieu House Solar Farm in Louth, the upgraded Dunkettle Interchange linking the M8, N25 and the N40 in Cork, and the Monaghan Peace Campus.

Designed by Roughan & O’Donovan and constructed by Jons Civil Engineering, the cycleway bridge opened to the public in August 2023. Spanning more than 100 metres, this visually striking landmark links the Radisson Blu Hotel and the Luan Gallery, making up the final stretch of the 42-kilometre Mullingar-Athlone cycleway.

Large sections of the two-span, steel girder bridge were built off-site to reduce noise pollution and impact on the environment. The project team faced significant challenges, including strict space restrictions along the banks of the Shannon and the need to seamlessly integrate the design with that of the Luan Gallery.

“This project is an excellent combination of high-quality engineering, environmentally conscious construction, and stunning visual design,” IBDA head judge Louis Gunnigan told the Westmeath Independent.

“The designers’ achievement of this combination, whilst strictly adhering to the requirements of the surroundings and to the functional requirements of the bridge, makes it a project worthy of shortlisting for 2025 IBDA Engineering Project of the Year Award,” he added.

The bridge is not the only Athlone project nominated for an IBDA award. An office building in the IDA Business & Technology Park in Garrycastle has been shortlisted for both ‘Architectural Project of the Year’ and ‘Commercial/ Office Building Project of the Year’.

The winners in these and more than two dozen other categories will be announced at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin on April 5, at a gala event hosted by businessman and former Fine Gael TD Ivan Yates.