Rice Bridge

The Project:

Introduction

For the past forty or so years, Waterford City Council has carried out numerous studies with the aim of providing a second bridge for Waterford City. In fact, the need for a second river crossing was included in the 1967 Development Plan for Waterford City.

Proposals for a high level bridge across the Suir, from Bilberry on the Waterford side to Mount Misery on the Kilkenny side were investigated. A further option was the provision of another opening span bridge from a point adjacent to Reginald’s Tower on the River Suir of the town, to a point near the old Waterford boat club facility on the north side of the river.

However, in the intervening years, the structural stability of the then Redmond Bridge became a pressing matter and in 1984 a replacement for Redmond Bridge was completed. This current bridge, which was named Br. Edmund Ignatius Rice Bridge (known locally as Rice Bridge) has served Waterford City and its environs for the past 24 years.