The bridge is now above the Red Luas Line, which follows the former main line of Grand Canal. The original Grand Canal line was closed down and filled in from Davitt Road to the Basin Lane end of St. James’s Hospital in 1976 and was later used for the Luas Line which opened in 2004. It is the only remaining bridge on the former main line from Griffith bridge to the old harbour at James' Street.
Photo: Filling in of the Grand Canal under the renovated Rialto Bridge
Source: Dublin City Council Photographic Collection
A temporary timber bridge was constructed in 1766 to ensure uninterrupted progress for road traffic during the building the canal, as the main road to Kilmainham crossed at this point. Some time later, the Canal Company contracted Mr. Henry Roche to construct an ornamental bridge at a cost of £1,200, which, when it was finally completed, was considered similar in shape and style to a bridge in Venice, called Ponte Di Rialto.
Photo: Ponte di Rialto, Venice.
Source: Livioandronico2013
Known today as Rialto Bridge, the proper name is Harcourt Bridge, called after the Chairman of the Grand Canal Company, the First Earl of Harcourt. The bridge was reconstructed and widened in 1939 and further modified to comply with safety requirements when the Red Line Luas came into operation in September 2004. The closest Luas stop is called ‘Rialto’.
Information from Catherine Scuffil, Dublin City Council Historian on Dublin City website and Wikipedia.
The path from the road to the cache site is buggy and wheelchair friendly, but the cache itself is across a sloped piece of grass a few metres from the path.