A bridge almost as wide as it is long will be built across the Royal Canal at Spencer Dock, in the Dublin Docklands, to carry the planned Luas line from Connolly Station to the Point.
The bridge, designed by London-based architects Future Systems and Arup Engineers, will become the centrepiece of a linear park along the canal planned by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA).
It will be located on Mayor Street, beside the planned National Conference Centre designed by Irish-born international architect Kevin Roche, and not far from a major road bridge over the River Liffey by Santiago Calatrava.
Last week the Government finally awarded a contract to the Spencer Dock International consortium led by Treasury Holdings to build the €380 million conference centre and operate and maintain it for 25 years.
Architect Amanda Levete, of Future Systems, described the Luas bridge as "incredibly slender, soft and languid. It curves up at the edges like a manta ray. We wanted it to appear as a piece of land art that relates to the park".
Paul Maloney, the DDDA's chief executive, said the linear park "is a major landscape architecture project for the Docklands authority, and one which we believe will transform the stretch of the Royal Canal where it enters the River Liffey".
He pointed to the success of the Séan O'Casey Bridge in "branding" the Custom House Quay area and said the proposed Luas bridge would help to create a sense of place at the western entrance to the North Lotts area.
The main reason for its extra width is that it will also carry two traffic lanes as well as a pair of cycle tracks and curved walkways at its edges, which will be separated from the Luas tracks and traffic lanes by tubular steel safety rails. Specially designed lighting will emphasise its unusual, floating quality, according to John McLaughlin, the DDDA's director of architecture. "We see this bridge as a unique opportunity to deliver a remarkable piece of architectural legacy."
Future Systems' projects include a floating bridge at Canary Wharf in London and the Media Stand at Lord's Cricket Ground in Marylebone.
The tendering process for the construction of the Luas bridge will begin in June and work will start in Autumn 2007, according to the DDDA.