by Alan Jacques
THE long-awaited bypass for Adare village is included in the preferred route corridor for the Foynes to Limerick road improvement scheme that went on public display this week.
Limerick City and County Council in consultation with Transportation Infrastructure Ireland (TII) have revealed the preferred route corridor running from the N69 at Foynes towards the N21 at Rathkeale, providing a bypass for Adare, before connecting to the M20 motorway into Limerick.
Fianna Fail TD, Niall Collins, welcomed the fact that the route will incorporate an Adare Bypass. However, he said it is now incumbent on the council and TII to immediately engage with the communities living in and adjacent to the chosen route corridor.
“Commuters from across West Limerick will be pleased that there now is a firm plan to bypass Adare and that the notorious traffic tail backs will soon be a thing of the past. The Government must now make the funding available to deliver this bypass and new road in the shortest possible timescale,” he said.
General Election candidate for County Limerick, Cllr Emmett O’Brien told the Limerick Post that he was happy to see sense has prevailed with Adare included in a by-pass.
“We cannot lose sight of the fact that people’s homes and livelihood will be affected. The preferred route has been moved to the north in the townlands of Rincullia and Craggs, Askeaton and to the east in the townlands of Boolaglass and Nantinan and includes a section to connect with the existing N69 to the west of Askeaton through the townlands of Ballyellinan, Ballycullen and Cloonreask”.
“People in these townlands were never formally aware that their lands were likely to be effected and are unlikely to have made any submissions. They have been taken by surprise. The council and TII should invite them in for a proper consultation”, he said.
Meanwhile, the council’s director of transportation, Kieran Lehane, explained that the project will support the envisaged expansion of the Port of Foynes and its designation as a Core Port under EU regulations.
Public display sessions were held at the South Court Hotel in Raheen and at the Flying Boat and Maritime Museum in Foynes earlier this week.
Mr Lehane stated that the purpose of these sessions was to inform the public of the preferred route corridor and give them the opportunity to engage in the process and raise questions, concerns and comments for consideration.
