Anna Livia Bridge
{{Short description|Bridge over the River Liffey in Ireland}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Anna Livia Bridge
|native_name = Droichead Abhainn na Life
|native_name_lang = Irish
|image = annaLiffey1.JPG
|image_size =
|alt = Looking eastward at the Anna Livia Bridge
|caption =
|crosses = River Liffey
|locale = Chapelizod, Dublin
|preceded = Farmleigh Bridge
|followed = Islandbridge
|spans = 4
|traffic =
|design = Arch bridge
|material =
|open = 1753 (Previous structure in 1660s)
|coordinates = {{coord|53.3479|-6.3452|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Anna Livia Bridge ({{Irish place name|Droichead Abhainn na Life|The River Liffey Bridge}}), formerly Chapelizod Bridge ({{Irish place name|Droichead Shéipéal Iosóid|Isolde's Chapel Bridge}}), is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Chapelizod, Dublin, Ireland which joins the Lucan Road to Chapelizod Road.{{Structurae|id=20027336|title=Anna Livia Bridge}}
History
As the Liffey flows into the town of Chapelizod, a weir divides the course to form a large mill race. Split by the two bodies of water, the island at Chapelizod has been a base for industry since at least the 18th century.{{cite web|url= http://www.dublincity.ie/Planning/HeritageConservation/Conservation/Documents/smlChapelizod%20ACA%20Final%20Document.pdf |publisher= Dublin City Council |title= Chapelizod and Environs – Architectural Conservation Area – 2009 Heritage Conservation Report| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121127071513/http://www.dublincity.ie/Planning/HeritageConservation/Conservation/Documents/smlChapelizod%20ACA%20Final%20Document.pdf | archivedate= 27 November 2012 }}
The main flow is crossed by a four-span stone arch bridge, having two large central spans and two much smaller end spans. This bridge was built in the 1660s,{{cite book| url= https://archive.org/stream/calendarmanuscr00ballgoog/calendarmanuscr00ballgoog_djvu.txt | title=Report on Works in Phoenix Park (Extract) |date= 1668 | work= Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquess of Ormonde, K. P | quote=The new bridge of Chapellizard we find sufficiently done, and worth the sum of £195-1s-1d, alleged to be expended in that work}} and originally named Chapelizod Bridge.
The bridge was renamed in 1982 to mark the centenary of James Joyce's birth.{{cite magazine| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925569-1,00.html | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070210115417/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925569-1,00.html | url-status= dead | archive-date= 10 February 2007 | magazine=Time | title= Dublin jumps for Joyce | date= 12 July 1982}} (The bridge is mentioned in Joyce's Dubliners, as one of his "Dubliners", James Duffy, lives in Chapelizod and visits a public house near the bridge. Anna Livia is the name given to the personification of the River Liffey, and was a principal character in Joyce's Finnegans Wake – her final monologue recalls her life as she walks along the Liffey.)
Recent developments
As the only bridge 8 km past the Strawberry Beds to Chapelizod, and a main thoroughfare for traffic from the western suburbs (e.g.: Clonsilla and Blanchardstown) to Dublin city centre, the volume of road traffic over the bridge and through Chapelizod has increased in recent years.
Dublin City Council planned changes to the bridge, as part of a general "Traffic Management Plan for the Chapelizod area". The changes include the construction of separate footbridge sections outside the parapets of the bridge (to improve pedestrian safety), and the creation of cycle lanes on the bridge.{{cite web|url= http://www.dublincity.ie/Images/Improvements%20at%20Anna%20Livia%20Bridge_tcm35-26901.pdf | publisher= DublinCity.ie | title= Planning document – Proposed improvements to Anna Livia Bridge | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060420005453/http://www.dublincity.ie/Images/Improvements%20at%20Anna%20Livia%20Bridge_tcm35-26901.pdf |archivedate= 20 April 2006 }} Preparatory works for this initiative commenced in 2010{{cite web|url= http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/gallery/view/walkway-construction-anna-livia-bridge-20106 | publisher = Bridges of Dublin | title= Anna Livia Bridge – Walkway construction 2010 | accessdate = 17 October 2016 }} and the official opening was held in December 2011.{{cite web|url= http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/gallery/view/modern/anna-livia/opening-of-anna-livia-bridge-walkway-2011 | publisher= Bridges of Dublin | title= Anna Livia Bridge – Opening in December 2011 | accessdate = 17 October 2016 }}