It was built as part of the N25 New Ross Bypass, and was officially opened on 29 January 2020 by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and opened to traffic on 30 January 2020, becoming Ireland's longest bridge.

[4][5] The bridge is controversially[6] officially named after Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of former US President John F. Kennedy whose ancestors came from nearby Dunganstown.

[7] It is also popularly referred to as the Pink Rock Bridge[8] or as the New Ross Bypass Bridge, and as the Barrow Crossing in technical materials related to its construction.

The main spans were built using the balanced cantilever method.

At its maximum length from the central pier, the west span cantilevered 140m over the river.