WORK is set to begin next month on active travel infrastructure connecting the Technological University of the Shannon’s (TUS) Moylish Campus with Limerick’s city centre.
The active travel link will provide facilities for people to walk, wheel, or cycle between TUS and the Moylish Roundabout directly to the city centre.
The new path will run from the Moylish Roundabout and the junction between Belfield Gardens and the Ennis Road into the city, including the Cratloe Road, Sexton Street North, and High Road.
Works on the project, funded fully by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and carried out by P&D Lyon, will also include a new bus lane and “significant landscaping improvements”, a statement from Limerick City and County Council said.
An inbound bus lane extending along the Cratloe Road from the Moylish Roundabout to Hassett’s Cross will form part of the works, along with upgrade works to bus stops, side road junctions, and new road surfacing.
The works were approved by local councillors in December 2022 via a Part 8 planning application and are expected to get underway in May and take around 15 months to complete. Funding of €3.4million was provided by the NTA for the project.
Mayor of Limerick John Moran said the project getting underway marks a “significant step” forward in achieving the goal of becoming Ireland’s first city with a fully integrated active travel network by 2030.
“The North side of the city centre has real potential for significant future growth and enhancing the infrastructure in the area unlocks that potential. Actioning the signing of this contract means we can all now look forward with confidence to the day coming soon that hundreds of people travelling to school, university, work, or even Thomond Park on match days, will be able to do so in greater safety, all the way from Moylish to the city centre and back,” he said.
Senior Engineer with the Council’s Active Travel department, Sean McGlynn, added that “Limerick’s active travel story is adding another chapter with the beginning of this key project on the North side of the city”.
“Connecting an important educational institution such as TUS to the overall network is hugely important. We’ve been engaging with the stakeholders in the area consistently, both pre- and post-planning approval, and we know there’s a huge appetite in the area for this to be delivered,” he said.
