A Major Step On The Right Road: Carrigaline Writes Jack White (Pic: Adrian O’Herlihy)
Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Seamus McGrath has welcomed what he has called “a major step” in the progress of the Carrigaline Inner Western Relief Road, following the signing of the contract for the Detailed Design stage between Cork County Council and engineering consultants, Atkins. Signing the contract on behalf of Cork County Council on Monday, Cllr McGrath hailed it as a major step, saying, “This is the last stage prior to construction and while it could take approximately 12 months, it will put us in a position to apply for funding for construction once complete. Land acquisition is complete and planning permission is already in place from the preliminary design so this is really the penultimate stage before applying for funding and going to construction”. The route, which will link the Lower Kilmoney Road (Across from the Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witness Church) to the Ballea Road (Near Nova Court and The Carrigaline Court Hotel, and near Carrigaline Utd) has been highlighted as a key priority for Carrigaline since the Carrigaline Area Transportation Study 2006. Cork County Council will explore a number of funding routes to secure finance for construction once the Detailed Design phase is complete, including applying for a Strategic Road Grant, applying under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), which has already been done by Cork County Council for this route and not accepted (but a second round may be available in the future) or the third option, which could see Cork County Council applying for a loan directly to fund the project. Cllr McGrath says, “At the beginning of my tenure as County Mayor I set out as a priority to engage with the Chief Executive of Cork County Council to progress the issue of the Inner Western Relief road. I welcome this progress and while construction may be a while off, once complete it will give commuters travelling in the North – South access a real option, giving a third crossing of the river and facilitating the expansion of the town centre, creating more enterprise and employment for Carrigaline. I realise this isn’t the full solution to Carrigaline’s traffic management issues and as part of the Local Area Plan we’ve committed to a new transport study for Carrigaline to, amongst other things, look at the development of the Outer Western Relief Road and other critical infrastructural projects for the area”. Stay tuned to our website for updates: www.carrigdhoun.com
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