M1 Motorway and Bridges
Dublin Airport to Balbriggan
Project Details
Client: Fingal, Meath & Louth County Councils, Department of Regional Development Northern Ireland
Value: €280M
Services Provided: Bridge Design, Contract Procurment, Site Monitoring
Category: Bridge
Project Completion Date: 2007
Project Description
PUNCH Consulting Engineers have delivered the full scope of bridge planning, design and site monitoring of twenty two structures between Dublin Airport and Drogheda, fourteen in the Republic and eight in Northern Ireland. On the cross border scheme, which was delivered as a design build contract, we also acted as the Client’s Representative in relation to the structures.
The M1 Motorway is the main route travelling from Dublin to Belfast, linking the north and south of Ireland. These bridge schemes form part of the Trans-European Road Network (E01) and the Eastern Seaboard Corridor, and include the cross border Newry to Dundalk Road.
The cross border scheme required dealing with the numerous differences in design standards & approval procedures between the two jurisdictions. While the use of proprietary precast bridge systems was well established in the Republic, such systems were not acceptable in Northern Ireland. This scheme pioneered the approval and first use of such systems in Northern Ireland.