‘Money is the key issue’: Cost of completing distributor road in Limerick village soars

WORK to complete the long-awaited Croom Distributor Road could cost the local authority between €5 million and €10 million, it has been revealed.

The figure was confirmed as councillors in the Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District were briefed on the N/M20 project, which will be ready to go to planning by the end of this year.

In a motion, Cllr John O’Donoghue sought “an update on the Croom Distributor Road and on any other road improvements being considered in the immediate Croom area over the next 10 years.”

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He said there are ongoing traffic problems in Croom, adding that when the N/M20 is complete, traffic will either enter the village via Patrickswell or the (Croom) bypass.

“The Croom Distributor Road needs to be done and it should have been done years ago,” he said.

He highlighted issues with agricultural vehicles, high traffic volumes and the number of school buses moving through Croom.

Jari Howard, N/M20 project co-ordinator, said work to finalise the preliminary business case is nearing completion but that the project must “be approved by Cabinet” before a planning application is lodged.

He said the Croom Distributor Road has been part of the area development plan for Croom “for a long time,” but that it is not part of the N/M20 project.

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He warned that if the two projects were developed together, the Limerick-Cork motorway “could be delayed.”

Patricia Liddy, director of Transportation, Mobility and Place Making, said that if she “could get funding,” the final 400 metres of the distributor road would be completed.

“Money is the key issue,” she said, adding the support of local ministers “would be very useful”.

Cllr O'Donoghue said building the N/M20 without addressing issues such as the Croom Distributor Road, is “putting the cart before the horse” and will be a “huge step backwards”.

Ms Liddy acknowledged the frustration, adding that it will cost “between five and ten million euro” to complete the road - five times more than previously estimated.

Ms Liddy attributed the difference to “construction inflation.”