The £10 million Senator George Mitchell Peace Bridge and improved adjoining roads were declared open yesterday at Aghalane, a major cross-Border road link between Belturbet and Enniskillen. The project, which was a North/South venture, involved the building of the bridge over the River Woodford and improvements to 4 km of road on both sides of the Border.
The bridge was formally opened by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, and the Minister of Agriculture and Environment for Northern Ireland, Lord Dubs.
Mr Dempsey said that for almost 27 years the remains of the old bridge had symbolised the broken trust and deep fears which divided the communities on this island. "Today we are celebrating the replacement of a symbol of division by a symbol of reconciliation."
He said the bridge would be a major benefit to the local community, economically and socially. It was the largest cross-Border road infrastructure project to be completed to date and it followed the reopening over the last few years of more than 100 cross-Border public roads.
Saying that the N3 from Dublin to the north-west was the only national primary road to close during the Northern Troubles, the Minister added: "When the bridge ceased to function, it cut off not only the main route between Dublin, Fermanagh and south Donegal, but also caused severance of a closely-knit local farming community."