It was built as part of the N25 Waterford Bypass,[2] and opened to traffic on 19 October 2009, some ten months ahead of schedule.

[3] The Viking settlement at Woodstown was discovered during the project and the route of the southern approach roads was altered to preserve the site.

By comparison, the main span of the Foyle Bridge in Northern Ireland is four metres longer.

The cable-stayed bridge with its 112 metre tall tower, is a landmark structure for Waterford City and surrounding areas.

A series of "stay cables" fan out from the top of the tower to support the main span at intervals of about 10 metres.