Thurles Inner Relief Road works expected to last until at least 2030
Newly published tender documents outline a ‘50-month’ consultancy timeline
The publication of the tender marks a significant milestone for the scheme, which has been years in the making. However, the timeline outlined in the project brief indicates that the road is likely still several years away from completion, with the earliest possible delivery date now expected to be towards the end of 2030.
The documents describe the Thurles Inner Relief Road as a new 1.12km single carriageway linking the N62 Slievenamon Road with Mill Road (L-4001). The scheme is also set to include segregated footpaths and cycleways, along with a new 50-metre tied bowstring arch bridge over the River Suir. It has an estimated cost of between €6 and €20 million.
Planning approval for the scheme was granted in 2014, while all of the lands required for the project have since been acquired by Tipperary County Council. Around 140 metres of the route has already been constructed as part of the Lidl supermarket development on the former Erin Foods site.
The successful consultant and their team will be tasked with updating the existing design, preparing business cases and cost estimates, producing detailed construction drawings and tender documents, overseeing the procurement process, supervising construction and managing the project through to completion.
The outline timeline included in the tender brief document lays out a three-month familiarisation stage, followed by a two-month approval period, 10 months of detailed design, a further approval period, three months for tender evaluation and contract award, an 18-month construction phase and a 12-month handover and defects period. Overall, the contract duration is expected to run for approximately 50 months.
In an update provided in May of this year, Tipperary County Council indicated that their expectation was that a construction contract could be advertised in Q4 2027. Therefore, even if the current process progresses without delay and all elements of the timeline are delivered as planned, the Thurles Inner Relief Road would not be expected to reach full completion until around September 2030 at the earliest.
The latest timeline represents a significant change from previous expectations. Prior to the May update, the expected completion date outlined by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to local TD Ryan O’Meara was approximately the end of 2027. However, following the publication of these tender documents, the more realistic timeframe for completion is now September 2030 at the earliest.