WORK HAS begun on the construction of a footpath and cycleway on the Grand Canal to provide a pedestrian and bicycle link between Adamstown, near Lucan, in west Dublin and the city centre.
Dublin City Council says the green route will be equipped with CCTV, fishing stands, street furniture and special facilities for wildlife. The works along an 8.5km (5¼ miles) stretch of the canal between Inchicore and Grangecastle will take 15 months to complete, at a cost of €8 million, during which the present towpath will be closed to the public.
The works will also incorporate a twin 110kV electricity line from Inchicore to the 12th lock at Grangecastle which the council says will help to promote employment opportunities in southwest Dublin. The existing electricity supply system is said to be close to full capacity.
The council says it has surveyed wildlife along the route and liaised with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Central Fisheries Board. As a result, lighting will be designed so as to minimise the impact on animals and birds.
A dimmable and calendar-controlled public lighting system will be installed to reduce the impact on light-sensitive bats, the first of its kind in Ireland. Bat roosting boxes are to be installed and underground holts will be built to provide shelter and breeding opportunities for otters. Natural hedgerows will be reinstated with native species and the route will be finished with a stone path.
The projects will include measures to improve disabled access, including wheelchair-accessible fishing stands, as well as controlled road crossings at bridges.
Bruce Phillips, assistant area manager in Dublin South Central, said the council hoped the route would appeal to recreational users and commuters.
The present works will terminate at Blackhorse Bridge in Inchicore but the council is drawing up plans to continue the route along the canal to its end in the Dodder Basin, where it would link up with the proposed S2S cycle route along Dublin Bay.
A separate branch is envisaged that would follow the Camac river as far as Kilmainham.
