Traffic congestion in Tipperary town needs to be addressed urgently
Senator Ahearn calls for road links in Clonmel to be prioritised
The new links roads in Clonmel need to be prioritised separately from the overall N24 project according to Senator Garret Ahearn.
Senator Ahearn raised the matter last week in the Seanad.
Senator Ahearn, who has spoken in favour of the new N24 project, highlighted the urgency to solve traffic congestion along the Frank Drohan road.
The N24 runs from Limerick to Waterford and is a key, strategic route. Early stages has been completed on a future upgrade of the road. The work entails two sections, the first from Limerick Junction to Cahir and the second from Cahir to Waterford.
The first is about a year ahead in development of the other and its proposed route is going through the design phase. The proposed route for the second section, from Cahir to Waterford, was selected last month, and funding is now needed for the design.
Senator Ahearn is not fully confident Minister Ryan will fund this next stage saying “What I am hearing in this regard from the Department is not positive. I might have to submit another Commencement matter to seek funding to keep it going.”
Included in the proposed N24 project are two link roads in Clonmel, connecting Cashel Road, Fethard Road and Frank Drohan Road.
One of the two link roads is to go from the Ard Gaoithe Business Park roundabout across to the Fethard Road, just north of Clonard.
The second, which is also really important, is to go from Longfield estate across to the Paddocks roundabout and then across to the Carrigeen roundabout. The link roads have been included in the project to try to ease the traffic going along Frank Drohan Road.
Senator Garret Ahearn said “The really important point is that half of these link roads are done already. Those from the town know the roundabouts have been completed. The Paddocks roundabout has no link roads off it. The link roads were proposed in 2008 and it is now 14 years later. There was to be funding but there was an economic crash.”
URGENCY
Senator Ahearn continued “It is a big project to complete a road from Waterford to Limerick. This is really important. I am aware there are big projects right across the country and that not all of them will be completed, but I am saying that irrespective of whether the whole project is completed, be it in five, ten or 15 years, the two link roads should be built as a matter of urgency.”
He said they amounted to only 1.8 km and half of one of the link roads is done already. “You would have to go through only one field, nearly, to complete it. The cost to the Department of Transport would not be excessive. If we build the link road from Frank Drohan Road, we will reduce a lot of the traffic in Clonmel. Ultimately, much of the traffic on Cashel Road and Fethard Road is because of big multinationals in the town, including Abbott and Boston Scientific, and the business park at Ard Gaoithe. An awful lot of traffic goes through this area in the morning and it all goes down to the Cashel Road and Fethard Road roundabouts. The new design will alleviate the traffic problem. For the town itself, we should be considering the link roads separately from the full N24 project.”
ISOLATION
Senator Ahearn also made the case that the Minister should prioritise Clonmel like Tipperary Town.
He said “The Department says the link roads cannot be viewed in isolation, but the Minister is doing that in the context of Tipperary town. On part of the road that is being constructed, the Minister has said that Tipperary town will be looked at in isolation in the context of a bypass of 7 km or 8 km for the town as opposed to the whole project. I am asking the Minister to look at Clonmel in isolation just has he has done with Tipperary town and to say that these have to be completed as a matter of urgency. We might not be able to do or fund the whole project initially, but what we can do is prioritise the two link roads just as the Minister has prioritised Tipperary town and its bypass. I am asking for nothing different from what the Minister has done. I am simply asking that the Minister for Transport look at Clonmel in the same way as he has looked at Tipperary town, namely, in isolation. Continue the design if the design phase has to continue and fund it for the next year - because, as far as I am aware, it might not be funded - get it completed and then construct the two link roads. It is only just over 1 km long.”
Senator Ahearn also spoke about how national road projects take years to commence, “The Dunkettle roundabout opened this week. That is really positive but it took a long time to get to construction. The Frank Drohan Road is a car park for most of the day. It is no different to the M50 at 5 p.m. It is just a smaller road, obviously, but in terms of traffic and getting from place to place, it is a car park. People make decisions not to travel to places or go into town at that time simply because traffic is so bad.