SOUTH TIPPERARY County Council is engaged in a new round of public consultation on revised plans for a 17km dual-carriageway bypass of Carrick-on-Suir, on the N24 between Waterford and Limerick.
The latest scheme, which is being promoted in partnership with the National Roads Authority, has run into opposition from farmers in the area because of the large “land-take” needed for the new route and its environmental impact.
An earlier proposal for a wide single-carriageway bypass was dropped in 2008 due to “an NRA requirement to ensure that the route can be constructed to dual-carriageway standard” to take account of “increased levels of development and traffic”, the council said.
The existing road is described as a single-carriageway with hard shoulders of varying widths. “Safe overtaking opportunities are heavily restricted due to the alignment, the number of junctions and private accesses and the volume of oncoming traffic during peak periods.”
But one of the objectors – Eoghan McGrath, of Killonerry, near Carrick-on-Suir – said no accurate, up-to-date traffic count had been carried out to justify a dual-carriageway, and it was “breathtakingly absurd” to suggest that it could ever be justified by growth and development.
“The NRA’s own network of automatic roadside counters shows traffic has fallen 7 per cent over the last two years. This downward trend is accelerating, with a 4.3 per cent drop in the last 12 months compounding a 2.6 per cent fall the previous year,” he said.
In his submission to the council, Mr McGrath complained that Killonerry itself would be cut in half by the “emerging preferred route” for the new road even though the townland’s integrity had been “maintained through many centuries of hardship and oppression”.
He said Killonerry is a popular route for walkers from Carrick-on-Suir, horseriding from local equestrian centres and a jogging route for athletes from the Seán Kelly centre as well as being a habitat for protected species such as barn owl, corncrake and kingfisher.
The proposed dual-carriageway would branch off the N76 and run north of the existing N24, passing Ballydine Crossroads and Ballinderry, gradually turning northeastwards between Deerpark and Ballynagrana to avoid the built up areas of Carrick-on-Suir.
The route would then cross the R696, the Glen river, the R696 and the Linguan river in turn as it passes north of the town. The route finally turns back eastwards to join with the existing N24 east of Carrick-on-Suir.
The county council said route options were “assessed under criteria of safety, economy, environment, accessibility, social inclusion and integration”.
