The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday unveiled its proposed route for the €500 million Cork northern ring road which includes proposals for an 800 to 850-metre bridge crossing of the river Lee, over two miles west of Cork city.
The selected route will see the construction of 10km of dual carriageway extending from the Ballincollig bypass on the N22 Cork to Killarney road through Carrigrohane, north of Clogheen and on to Killeens to join up with the N20 Cork to Limerick road.
A route for a second 10km section of the ring road has already been identified which will carry the road north from the N20 past Rathpeacon, on to Whites Cross before joining the N8 Cork-Dublin road just north of the Glanmire bypass.
However, it was the western section of the roadway which caused most controversy with campaigners concerned that some of the options being proposed would divide Kerry Pike village, or cut through historic woodlands at the end of the Shournagh Valley.
The route selected by the NRA, however, avoids both these problems, swinging northward from the Ballincollig bypass to the existing Poulavone round-about before crossing the river Lee between Carrigrohane and the Angler's Rest pub near Leemount Cross.
According to Tony Mullane, projects manager in the Cork NRA office, the selected route has a number of advantages over other routes in that it is one of the shortest options, taking a tighter curve around the city than the other proposals.
It also makes use of the Poulavone roundabout between Carrigrohane and Ballincollig, while it also requires a minimum number of new structures and will impact directly on fewer dwellings than any of the other possible routes.
"It will require a major crossing of the river Lee, but all the routes would require a bridge and we believe that this crossing merits a landmark structure - something similar to say, the Boyne Valley crossing - it offers the potential to be a striking landmark," Mr Mullane said.
The route will probably also involve the building of either a flyover or an underpass at the Poulavone roundabout, but this will only be decided at the design stage where the exact type of crossing of the Lee will also be finalised.
Mr Mullane said the eastern section of the northern ring road will start first as it forms part of the Atlantic Corridor as set out under Transport 21 proposals, with work on the western section likely to follow at a later stage although no time schedule has been fixed yet.