Dublin City Council is seeking consultants to design a "public transport only" bridge between Ringsend and the south quays of the river Liffey.
The bridge, to run between Seán Moore Road in Ringsend and the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, will remove a maritime barrier formed by the confluence of the Dodder and the Grand Canal.
It will also provide a link with Ringsend Park for residents of the large number of new apartments around Grand Canal Dock.
The bridge was included in the Dublin City Council Development Plan and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority Master Plan. A spokesman for Dublin City Council said he was unable to put a cost on the project.
Advertising on the Government's e-tendering website for consultants to assist in the project, the council said the bridge would be approximately 100m (330ft) in length.
The advertisement said the structure must have "an arrangement for opening" to provide for aquatic traffic to and from the Liffey to the Dodder and/or Grand Canal Dock. This condition would be particularly important to Waterways Ireland which has an information centre on Ireland's inland waterways in the inner Grand Canal dock.
It would also be important to boaters as the dock is the start of the Grand Canal navigation which eventually links to the Shannon in Co Offaly.
The contract for the bridge work also includes an eastern approach of about 1,200m to tie in to Seán Moore Road. A short approach is required on the western side to tie in to Sir John Rogerson's Quay/Britain Quay.
A spokesman for Dublin City Council told The Irish Times the bridge would be restricted to public transport and would cater for two bus lanes, two cycle lanes and two footpaths.
Provision is also to be made for a possible Luas extension.
According to the council spokesman, the current requirements of the project are to examine a number of options, to recommend one of these options and to bring the preferred option to the preliminary design stage.
