It will shave a few minutes off the walk to Cork’s Victorian Quarter and anything that gets us to Cask quicker is alright with us.

Construction of the €5 million Harley’s Street Pedestrian & Cycle Bridge will start this month.

As the site is set up and underground utilities are diverted in the city, the bridge itself will be fabricated off site by Thompsons of Carlow between now and February 2019.

And it’s one heck of an operation; bridge sections will be transported by truck to the lower harbour for final assembly and finishing.

The finished superstructure will be eventually placed on a barge and transported by river to the city centre.

The barge journey will be timed to coincide with the optimum tide level for clear passage under Brian Boru Bridge before arrival at its final destination in the city centre in April 2019.

At this stage the bridge will be lifted by crane from the barge in one overnight operation which will require the complete closure of both quays for the duration of the lift.

It’s expected that up to 11,000 pedestrians and cyclists, travelling between the city centre and the Victorian Quarter daily, will benefit from the improved connectivity and convenience provided by Harley’s Street Bridge.