The construction of a new cycle route to finally connect the river Liffey to Dublin Port and its ferry terminals will begin on Tuesday.
Dublin Port Company’s Liffey-Tolka project is a 1.4km cycle and pedestrian route to link the Liffey cycle paths with the Tolka Estuary Greenway which opened in September 2024.
The route will run from the riverside beside the Tom Clarke (East Link) Bridge, northwards parallel to East Wall Road and Bond Road to the southern shore of the Tolka Estuary opposite Clontarf.
The two-way cycle path will be within the existing port lands, allowing cyclists to avoid the six lane highway that runs from the Liffey into the Dublin Tunnel.
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The Liffey-Tolka project is the second major phase of more than 16km of cycle routes through Dublin Port, being developed at a cost of €25 million, to open the port lands to the public.
Starting at the Liffey side, the large steel gates beside the Tom Clarke Bridge will be removed to create a new civic space, North Wall Square, forming the entrance to the cycle route.
It will then head north towards the Port Centre buildings, past heritage structures including the port museum and the maritime gardens.
At Alexandra Road, the only point on the route where cyclists will cross traffic, a new signalised crossing will be installed with priority for cyclists and pedestrians.
North of Alexandra Road the route will run through a tree-lined boulevard towards Bond Road where a new cycle bridge will be built over Promenade Road, one of the Port’s primary access roads that leads from the tunnel.
On the far side of the bridge, the route continues for a short distance, around 150 metres, until it meets the Tolka Estuary Greenway, which runs from East Point Business Park, along the perimeter of the bay to the ferry terminals.
The route will be developed in two phases, with the section from North Wall Square to Alexandra Road due for completion by summer 2027, and the second section connecting to the Tolka Estuary Greenway completed by 2030.
“Phase two includes a bridge that is still in design at the moment, though we do already have planning permission for it, but building bridges is more complicated, specialist work than the rest of the greenway,” Lar Joye, port heritage director, said.
While the full 1.4km route needs to be completed before cyclists have safe segregated access from the Liffey to the ferry terminals, the first phase will be a significant step to integrating the city with the port, Joye says.
“When you come down to the port at the moment what you see is a big wall which gives a message to stay away. Over the next year, that wall will start to disappear and the boundary will move into the port by about 15m, which gives us the space for a proper segregated pedestrian and cycleway – cyclists have their space and walkers have their space with a green margin in between.”
Parts of the Victorian wall will be retained, largely for its heritage value, but the austere 20th century boundary will be replaced with railings to separate port industry from the new public space.
“You’ll be able to see the infrastructure, see the working port, in a space where you can sit and take some time, in an area that previously you’d be running away from.”
Speaking in advance of the sod-turning on Tuesday, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the project “demonstrates how a working port and a growing city can successfully coexist”. The route would form “a key part of Fáilte Ireland’s coastal trail, ultimately linking Balbriggan, Donabate and Malahide, and southwards to Killiney,” he said.
Dublin Port chief executive Barry O’Connell said the new route would build on the success of the Tolka Estuary Greenway which has had 250,000 visitors since it opened.
“The start of the Liffey-Tolka Project marks the next phase in improving amenities around the Port estate. Anyone who uses the busy East Wall Road will know it can be a challenging environment, with little separation from traffic. This project will directly address those issues.”
Dublin City Council chief executive Richard Shakespeare said the project “by connecting to the Liffey active travel corridor will add a significant amenity for residents and visitors in the city” and connect to the “city’s East Coast trail, which when complete, will link Sutton to Sandycove”.
