Part-closure of junction could see surge of traffic into Limerick village

CONCERN has been raised at a surge in vehicles passing through Patrickswell village.

It comes after it emerged plans for the new Limerick to Cork M20 motorway reveal access to the road will be restricted near the village.

Designs reveal that part of junction five near Attyflynn to the west of the village will be closed off.

It means that drivers heading towards Attyflin, Killeen and their surrounds will need to exit the motorway at junction four and drive through the village.

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By the same token, any motorists heading from these areas towards the city will need to pass through Patrickswell before joining the M20 at junction four - or continuing through Raheen to the city centre, according to the design outline.

Published last week, the plans have sparked fear in and around the local area.

The Príomh Comhairleoir of the council Dan McSweeney, who is based in the village, said he had received dozens of telephone calls from concerned residents.

“Overall, the proposed closure of a section of this junction will undoubtedly cause an increase in traffic passing through Patrickswell village and also surrounding roads,” he said.

He pointed out that in the recent past, there has been funds allocated to improve the conditions for walkers, particularly those using Main Street.

“We have seen significant investment in excess of €2m in Patrickswell village to improve pedestrian safety over recent months and to now push additional traffic goes completely against the Town and Village Renewal Scheme,” Cllr McSweeney said.

“It is extremely disappointing to see such a proposal that will increase traffic, particularly due to the fact there is emphasis on reducing traffic in our towns and villages as part of this scheme, but Patrickswell will see increased traffic as a result of this proposal.”

This Tuesday, Cllr McSweeney was having talks with the project team.

Limerick City and County Council is leading the M20 project, and a spokesperson for the authority acknowledged the worries raised around the design at Attyflin.

“The team will consider these concerns as part of the public engagement process in developing the final design of the N/M20 project where movements at this proposed interchange will be considered in tandem with movements at the adjacent

Patrickswell interchange and Adare interchange being provided as part of the Foynes to Limerick scheme,” council wrote in a statement.

The Leader understands a figure of potentially between 8,000 and 10,000 fresh vehicles through Patrickswell is wide of the mark, with the project team yet to report back on traffic modelling.

Minister of State Niall Collins said the plan is “counter-productive” to what the purpose of a motorway is.

The Fianna Fail TD, who had talks with the design team said: “We raised the very genuine and real concerns of the people living in Patrickswell village who are quite alarmed at this,” he said.

The design of the Limerick to Cork motorway was unveiled last week, and includes a number of unique features. It’s likely to be a dual carriageway with a 120 kilometres per hour speed limit.

It’s anticipated it will reduce journey times between Ireland’s second and third cities by up to 30 minutes.

On top of this, there will be 100km of safe, shared active travel pathways with park and ride facilities.