The Loopline Bridge (or the ''Liffey Viaduct'') is a railway bridge spanning the River Liffey and several streets in Dublin, Ireland. It joins rail services from south of Dublin to Connolly Station and lines north. Designed by John Chaloner Smith (engineer to the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway), the bridge was built between 1889 and 1891. It consists of wrought iron lattice girders on a double row of piers with five spans. The

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

is approximately six metres above street level and supports two railway tracks. During original planning and construction (in the late 19th century) the project was subject to much opposition and controversy, because the structure blocks the view down river to The Custom House. However, the bridge was deemed necessary as a rail link between north and south Dublin, and to facilitate the movement of transatlantic mail coming from Kingstown ( Dún Laoghaire) and Queenstown (

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

). 100 years later, the visage of the bridge remains the subject of some debate, and has been described by historian Richard Killeen as "one of the city's true eyesores". Already arguably less attractive than some of Dublin's other bridges, the façades of the Loopline have been used by

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...

for billboard advertising. , the company has scaled back the bridge's use for this purpose to reduce impact on the city skyline, following input from An Bord Pleanála and Dublin City Council. A prominent feature in the city landscape since 1891, the Loopline Bridge appears in one of the most famous literary works associated with Dublin:

References

{{Dublin Liffey Bridges Railway bridges in the Republic of Ireland Bridges in Dublin (city) Bridges completed in 1891 1891 establishments in Ireland