The Ha'penny Bridge over the Liiffy River, Dublin, Ireland

The Ha'penny Bridge is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in the city of Dublin.

Photo from Windows Ireland Theme.

The Ha'penny Bridge (Irish: Droichead na Leathphingine, or Droichead na Life), known later for a time as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast iron, the bridge was cast at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire England.

History

Before the Ha'penny Bridge was built there were seven ferries, operated by a William Walsh, across the Liffey. The ferries were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge. Walsh chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years. Initially the toll charge was based, not on the cost of construction, but to match the charges levied by the ferries it replaced. A further condition of construction was that, if the citizens of Dublin found the bridge and toll to be "objectionable" within its first year of operation, it was to be removed at no cost to the city.

The toll was increased for a time to a Penny Ha'penny (one and a half pence), but was eventually dropped in 1919 . While the toll was in operation, there were turnstiles at either end of the bridge.

Renovation and maintenance

In 2001 the number of pedestrians using the bridge on a daily basis was 27,000 and, given these traffic levels, a structural survey indicated that renovation was required. The bridge was closed for repair and renovations during 2001 and was reopened in December 2001, sporting its original white color.

The structure was rebuilt to retain many of its old components, although, controversially, some features were removed. The repair work was carried out by Harland and Wolff .

In 2012, citing a maintenance and damage risk, Dublin CIty Council removed a number of love locks from the Ha'penny Bridge and nearby Millennium Bridge, and asked people not to do it. In 2013 the council removed over 300kg of locks from the bridge, and signage was added asking people not to put padlocks on the bridge.

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