Cork Corporation engineers in bright yellow coats will be seen cycling around Cork over the next few months as work on the final phase of the city's main drainage scheme moves towards a conclusion.
The local authority's switch to pedal power is seen as the fastest way of getting key personnel to various project sites, and means that while further traffic delays are inevitable, delivery on the promise of a clean River Lee is at last in sight.
In the city's strategic plans for the next two decades, the Lee is seen a vital amenity, although in its present manifestation, it is little more than an open sewer, through which the untreated domestic waste output of the population of Cork flows each day. There are few now who can remember a time when the river, even near the city centre, was used by youngsters in the summer months. No one would dare swim in it today above the weir at County Hall.
The main drainage scheme now under way, holds out the prospect of a waterway which will be used once again for amenity purposes and which will have a major role to play when the city's docklands are redeveloped over the next two decades in a multi-million euro public/private partnership. The concept is for a new riverside mix of domestic housing, amenity space, with quayside restaurants and cafes, as well as commercial and educational enterprises. A clean Lee is a must if the dream is ever going to become a reality.
This is one of the largest environmental projects ever undertaken in the State and bringing it all together has required the co-operation not only of the motorists who use the city, but the public transport authorities, the Garda and the traders, who have continued operating, despite digging and tunnelling in various locations around the city centre since work started in April 1999.
Last weekend, the final phase of the city centre element began, and once again, traders and the public will be asked to be patient as tunnels are dug under Singers Corner, Grand Parade and Washington Street. So far, despite the dire warnings, astute traffic management has allowed life to go on as normally as could possibly be expected in the circumstances. However, between now and August, further disruption is inevitable. By buying in a fleet of bicycles for its engineering team, Cork Corporation is sending out a potent message. The time may be at hand for Corkonians to follow the lead given by City Hall and abandon the motor car in favour of cycling around a city that is becoming increasingly congested.
The main drainage scheme covers a wide area, requiring the engineers to be at sites as far apart as Oliver Plunkett Street and the Western Road. Pedal power was the obvious answer, according to senior engineer Mr John Walsh: "The bikes save a great deal of time and they are environmentally friendly, which is in keeping with the project, one of the largest environmental schemes undertaken in Ireland."
Once the new sewer pipe system has been laid, all the city centre waste, as well as that from the north side of the city, will be brought to Kennedy Quay by means of a large siphon, and from there to Atlantic Pond by means of a huge trunk sewer. Waste will then be pumped via Lough Mahon, to a water treatment plant at Carrigrennan on Cork Harbour. The €71 million facility will have the capacity to process waste for a population equivalent of 400,000 people and will be one of the largest in operation in the State. The plant will be commissioned in mid-2004, which is also the target date for the completion of the entire scheme.
It is remarkable that such a vast scheme has been able to progress this far without the entire transport infrastructure of Cork grinding to a halt. Somehow, Cork Corporation has managed this project with a minimum of disruption. Much of this has to do with the fact that the work was signalled well in advance, and given the carrot of a clean Lee once again, people were prepared to accept the discomfort for the prize on offer. The €267 million scheme, at another level, has been a powerful boon to the local economy. Since 1999, when work started, approximately €1.2 million has been spent in the region each week. By the end of 2001, an estimated €91 million had been contributed to the local economy. The scheme is 80 per cent funded by the EU Cohesion Fund, with the balance being provided by the Department of the Environment and Local Government through the National Development Plan.
The good news for the people of Cork is that by the end of next year, all work in the city centre is expected to be completed.