CONSTRUCTION OF THE new Liffey Street plaza is set to begin in Dublin city centre at the end of this month, the city council has confirmed. 

Works were supposed to start at the very beginning of the year but there have been delays due to the current ongoing building of a hotel on the same street. 

Liffey Street (both Upper and Lower) experiences around 30,000 pedestrians and some 2,500 vehicles per day, according to the council.

The existing pedestrian area on Liffey Street Upper is to be extended to the intersection with Abbey Street. A new pedestrian plaza will also be created on Liffey Street Lower between Strand Street and the Quays.

The new plaza is being built for a number of reasons. A statement from the council reads: “A high quality design is being utilised to improve the ambiance of the street, with increased greening and wider footpaths creating a quality space to be enjoyed by all.

“The proposed works will involve a full upgrade of the footpaths and carriageway at this location. The footpaths will be widened and repaved in granite, and notable new planting will be included to match those already introduced in other recently completed city centre streets.”

The works involve the replacement of an existing gas main, the provision and installation of new watermains, the provision of new surface water sewers, public lighting, street furniture in the form of bollards, benches, bicycle stands, and bins and the replacement of some utility covers and frames within the site.

Liffey Street lower is currently open to one-way southbound traffic along its entire length from Abbey Street to the Quays. There are pedestrian footways on both sides of the road. The council said that it will do its best to ensure that through-traffic will be maintained for the duration of the works between Abbey Street and Strand Street.

“However, it is acknowledged in advance that temporary road closures (affecting vehicular traffic) will have to be an integral part of these public roadworks.

“Temporary traffic management will be a major part of the proposed works, with the safety of pedestrians and other road users remaining paramount throughout the construction period,” the council statement added.