West-Link

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Bridge over the River Liffey in Ireland

title: "West-Link" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bridges-in-county-dublin", "bridges-completed-in-1990", "1990-establishments-in-ireland", "toll-bridges-in-the-republic-of-ireland", "buildings-and-structures-in-south-dublin-(county)", "buildings-and-structures-in-fingal", "road-infrastructure-in-the-republic-of-ireland"] description: "Bridge over the River Liffey in Ireland" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West-Link" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Bridge over the River Liffey in Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	West-Link
native_name	Droichead an Nascbhóthair Thiar
native_name_lang	Irish
image	Westlink Bridges Dublin Ireland Geograph 412193 7d62a75d.jpg
image_size	240
alt	West-Link bridges from underneath
caption	West-Link bridges from underneath
design	Twin bridges
carries	M50 motorway
crosses	River Liffey, R109 regional road
locale	Dublin, Ireland
preceded	Lucan Bridge
followed	Farmleigh Bridge
length	~385m
height	~42m
begin	1987 (1st span)
2000 (2nd span)
complete	1990 (1st span)
2003 (2nd span)
coordinates
toll	Barrier-less toll (operated by eFlow)
::

History

Plans were announced for the construction of the bridge in 1987, and launched by Minister for the Environment Pádraig Flynn. At the time it was expected to be the largest bridge ever built in the state and to cost in the region of £30 million. When complete, the expected toll was to cost the driver "about sixty pence". Built by NTR plc (then called National Toll Roads plc) under a deal with Dublin County Council, the bridge was an early example of public private partnership (although that term was not used at the time) and was the first section of toll motorway to open in the State. In return for constructing and maintaining the bridge, NTR received the right to operate it as a toll bridge for thirty years. Originally a single-span structure, a second span was completed and opened in September 2003. In 2007, the National Roads Authority reached a deal with NTR to buy out the toll bridge effective 1 August 2008. However, for traffic management purposes, a toll remained, a situation prompting widespread and ongoing criticism. NTR continued to operate the bridge until 29 August 2008 when at midnight eFlow took over. The toll plaza barriers were at that point replaced by overhead gantry-based electronic tolling.

Structure

The bridge crosses the River Liffey at a point known as the Strawberry Beds. On the motorway it starts at a point approximately 2 km south of junction 6 (Blanchardstown) and runs to a point almost immediately north of junction 7 (Palmerstown). It is 385 metres long, and at its highest elevation, it is approximately 42 metres above the river. Figures from 2005 indicated that the bridge was carrying an average of 98,000 vehicles per day. The bridge is the only Liffey crossing between Chapelizod and Lucan Bridge (both of which are narrow two-lane structures) and thus it carries a large amount of traffic passing between the north and south Dublin suburbs.

Tolling system

Since 30 August 2008, open road tolling has been in effect. As of 2026, the toll is €2.60 for cars on a tag account, €3.20 for cars whose number plates have been registered with eFlow on a video account, and €3.80 for unregistered cars. Unregistered vehicles can pay at Payzone outlets, by calling eFlow customer service or by paying on the eFlow website. Drivers who fail to pay receive escalating fines, depending on how long the toll remains unpaid.

Prior to 29 August 2008, tolling was usually by cash payment at a toll plaza to the former operators NTR plc. A prepaid tag system, Eazy Pass, has also been used since the early 2000s but was not barrier-free, unlike the present arrangements.

The tolling remains a single-point operation.

References

(1987-06-17). "Toll Bridge For Strawberry Beds - 1987". RTÉ.
"M50 Second West-Link Toll Bridge". National Roads Authority.
"West-Link Bridge - History". Dublin City Council.
(28 August 2008). "No barrier means no jobs for 120 toll-bridge staff". Irish Independent.
"West-Link Bridge - Design and Engineering". Dublin City Council.
(25 July 2005). "NTR publishes West-Link figures - RTÉ News". Rte.ie.

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