Major upgrade approved for busy road in Offaly
The current section of the road between Rhode and Edenderry is too narrow and has a poor surface
OFFALY councillors have given the go-ahead for the upgrade and widening of a short stretch of road in Edenderry.
Part of the R441 road from Edenderry town to Rhode is currently too narrow to permit two trucks to pass at the same time.
Under the realignment plan which came before councillors for approval at the April meeting of Offaly County Council, a 270-metre stretch of the road will be widened from under five metres to seven.
It will also have a 2.2m footpath each side and a 1.5m cycle path and will tie in with the Edenderry Inner Relief Road.
It extends from the business campus entrance at Monasteroris down to the junction with St Patrick's/Killane Road and the Francis Street junction and along with its inadequate width, its surface is currently in poor condition, the meeting was told.
Tom Shanahan, a director of services with the council, said there is “partial funding” available to the local authority this year for the completion of the road's design.
Now that the project has been approved it can go to the Department of Transport list for sanction next year.
A report prepared by the council noted a “high incidence” of accidents on the road. Land will have to be acquired to carry out the work.
Local Fine Gael representative, Cllr Noel Cribbin, proposed the approval of the project, saying that it, along with the soon to be opened new stretch of the Edenderry Inner Relief Road is “great work” and “top class” and it is vital that it be done.