Cameras to film Peace Bridge build
Cameras have been put in place at Ebrington and on top of the City Hotel to record every stage in the construction of Derry's new £13.4m Peace Bridge, which began officially yesterday.
Speaking at a launch to mark the turning of the sod at the former Ebrington Barracks site, the Chairman of Ilex, Sir Roy McNulty revealed that time lapse cameras are now in place and that when construction is completed at the end of the year, Ilex will run the footage together to create an impressive film showing the entire process.
Sir Roy added that Ilex are also planning to bury a time capsule beside the flag pole at Ebrington and are appealing to the Derry public to suggest items which could be saved for posterity.
"To mark this important milestone Ministers are launching a process asking people to let us know what they think should be included in a time capsule to be placed in Ebrington to mark the completion of this iconic project and to represent the city's history, its people, and their aspirations for the future," he said.
Also attending yesterday's launch was Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who said he was delighted to be present at such an historical occasion in his home city.
"It is my sincere hope that the new bridge will be a catalyst for change and will help transform this city and the local community in the widest sense. It represents a real opportunity to improve relationships by transcending the physical divide of the river which, for so long, has been viewed as a boundary between the Waterside and the city side," he said.
"It will bring Ebrington into shared, public use for the first time in almost 170 years. Most importantly, it will enable the local community to reclaim this prime riverside location for their own enjoyment".
The third bridge across the River Foyle, the Peace Bridge has been given 13,343,476 from the European Union's PEACE III Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The programme's theme of Creating Shared Public Space aims to support large scale infrastructure developments that will tackle problems of separated communities by creating genuine new shared space or transforming contested space.
Pat Colgan, Chief Executive of SEUPB said "This event marks a key milestone in the development of the Peace Bridge; a truly iconic project which has become a reality through the assistance of European funding. Upon completion it will act as a physical symbol of change, encouraging greater level of cross-community engagement, peace and reconciliation.
Tide turned
Janice Tracey, Chief Executive of the local Chamber of Commerce added that construction of the bridge was "a signal to the private sector that the tide has turned in Northern Ireland and in Derry and it's not going to go back."
Foyle MP Mark Durkan said he hoped that the people of the city would take a great interest in the bridge and in the building process.
"This landmark project will help to redefine our cityscape linking the exciting prospects at Ebrington with a renewed city centre.
"The new peace bridge is an exciting taste of the regeneration the city can achieve.
"This bridge was conceived as an iconic link which would help to create a totally new sense of a shared city centre that spans the river."
Construction is due to be completed on the bridge by the end of this year.
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Weather for Derry
Monday 20 May 2013
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Temperature: 9 C to 13 C
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