The Official Opening

The Brother Edmund Ignatius Bridge was opened on 22nd October 1984 by Mr. Liam Kavanagh T.D. Phase one of the Bridge Replacement Project was finished and cars could flow over the two lanes of the City's new bridge.

This was an important milestone for Waterford Corporation as they had been pressing for funding for 16 years to build the bridge. In the second phase the two further lanes were constructed on the site of the demolished bridge. This opened in spring of 1986.

The following morning work began on the demolition of the remains of the Redmond Bridge. Some of the old bridge was used for filling and other pieces were claimed for souvenir purposes. A licence was obtained from the Department of the Environment to dump the rest at sea beyond Hook Head.