Tipperary County Council to seek improvement works on three Nenagh routes at TII meeting
An upgrade of the Nenagh bypass is to be sought by Tipperary County Council when they meet the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) later this year.
The bypass was opened 22 years and, councillors at the September meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District heard that it had since deteriorated.
Tipperary County Council meets the TII on an annual basis to outline roads that need attention throughout the county. Each Municipal District identifies roads in need of urgent attention.
Director of Services and district manager Marcus O’Connor told councillors at the September meeting that the most effective case at the upcoming meeting with the TII could be made if the council’s case for funding approval could be boiled to three priority projects.
He said tackling the N52 bypass of Nenagh, along with work on the narrow stretch of winding road between Borrisokane and Birr and the N65 at Carrigahorig had been identified by the council as the top three priorities.
The urgent need for major upgrade works on the narrow and winding stretch of road just outside Borrisokane on the Birr Road at Ballylina will also be raised when a delegation from Nenagh Municipal District, led by the Cathaoirleach, Cllr Rocky McGrath meet TII officials in the coming weeks.
A third priority to be raised at the meeting will be the need to raise a section of the N65 between the village of Carrigahorig and Portumna – the main artery to the West from north Tipperary - that floods during times of heavy and persistent rain, blocking traffic on the vital route which gets inundated by waters from the River Shannon.
Cllr Hughie McGrath welcomed the fact that improvement works on the N52 bypass of Nenagh had been identified by the council as a priority project.
He suggested that the council press for repairs in particular on the stretch from the Borrisokane Road Roundabout to the Portroe Roundabout. This was the busiest section of the bypass, used by both vehicles and pedestrians.
Cllr Ger Darcy said the section of the N52 outside Borrisokane, stretching from Killavilla House to Ballylina, was totally inadequate for modern day traffic.
“It’s going to require a lot of money,” said Cllr Darcy.
He also urged the TII to look at improving safety at many junctions on the N52, describing the intersections near Ashley Park and Conger as “death traps”.
In response to concerns raised by Cllr Seamus Morris about the poor road surface of the Borrisokane Road Roundabout in Nenagh, district engineer Barry Murphy agreed that the surface had “deteriorated rapidly” and that the council was seeking separate funding for an upgrade.
Cllr Joe Hannigan said the narrow road leading to Birr just north of Borrisokane was the worst section of the N52 route, which stretched all the way from Nenagh to Ardee in county Louth.
He said the state of the road was in stark contrast to the standard of national primary routes seen in most other areas of the country.
“We have to ask why vital road works like improving this very busy road are not happening in Tipperary. It seems every time we make a case to the TII on this route it’s a case of in one ear and out the other,” he said.
Asking how the council was ever going to persuade the roads authority of the urgent need to widen and realign the road, Cllr Hannigan wondered if the best tactic might by to refuse to meet with the TII over the issue.
“We could stay home and protest, and just say: ‘You’re not listening to us anyway’,” he said.