The city has numerous bridges. Built in 1816, the Ha'penny Bridge, with its ornate overhead street lamps, once had a toll of half a penny. A pedestrian crossing, it sees the daily passage of about 30,000 pairs of feet. Many lovers make their promises on this bridge, and couples famously attach padlocks to the railings to symbolize undying love.
These locks are now so numerous that in February, the city council posted signs asking that people refrain from doing this. Last year alone, over 300 kg of locks were removed from the railings. Another pedestrian crossing, the Millennium Bridge, was added in 1999.
The showy Samuel Beckett Bridge resembles a harp, and includes a swing section that can be opened to let ships pass. Designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and built in 2009, it carries cycles and motor traffic. The famous Irish writer of Waiting for Godot, like his predecessor James Joyce, lived and wrote away from his native Ireland for most of his life.
Joyce also has a bridge named after him: the James Joyce Bridge opened to traffic in 2003. It joins Blackhall Place to the south quays. Another Calatrava creation, it is a single-span steel design, with outward angled arches, and pre-fabricated steel sections created by Harland and Wolff, the Belfast shipbuilders who made the Titanic.
Named for a union activist, the new Rosie Hackett Bridge is where the north and south side LUAS tram lines will connect. This crossing will be shared by pedestrians, buses, taxis and cyclists. The LUAS Cross-city project is scheduled for completion in 2017.
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