N24 Limerick-Waterford upgrade

Jayuu wrote: »

They'll probably bring all of these as far as design status and then do them piecemeal as money allows.

I think the N24 should be built to 2+2 status although I reckon we'll probably end up with a WS2 scheme. Given that it serves as a link between Limerick and Waterford it's would be a much better link for those two cities than the M20/N25 route via Cork, so it could justify the upgrade.

As for priority I would go with Pallasgreen > Cahir (or even Pallasgreen > Bansha) first followed by the Carrick-on-Suir/Kilsheelan bypass. Taking Tipperary/Bansha/Carrick/Kilsheelan out of the route would dramatically cut journey times.

Cool Mo D wrote: »

The N24 needs doing, but not dual carraigeway the whole length. 2x2 bypasses of Tipp town, Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel, and then a good standard single carraigeway, realigned past all the villages would be perfect.

nordydan wrote: »

IMO the N24 should multiplex with the M8 and run due east from Tipperary town, this would improve links from Tipp town (& Galbally , Ballylanders etc) with Dublin, North Tipp. Something like this:

nordydan wrote: »

Indeed, not sure about the topography mind you but the N74 would also go. It's a national route in name only

I would like an update on the state of the N24 Pallasgreen-Cahir scheme. Tom Hayes TD has said that the NRA intends to progress this upgrade. He reports Fred Barry as saying the scheme is being retained. This is most welcome. First, what is the status of the scheme, and when will the EIS be published and made available to the public? Second, it was suggested recently on the Roads Forum of boards.ie that part of this scheme be multiplexed with the M8, as shown here. Can you please comment on this idea: was it (or is it) considered an option? If done it would eliminate the need for the dire N74, improve the N24, as well as shorten the alignment of the new N24, thereby reducing costs while making maximum use of the spare capacity on the M8 between Cashel and Cahir, all in one go. In any event, is the NRA open to putting this scheme into a second or third tranche of PPP projects to be advanced after the current batch (M17/M18/M11/Newlands Cross) is delivered?

Jayuu wrote: »

Personally I'm not sure why an upgraded N24 (if it were 2+2) would need to divert in the manner suggested.

I would think that if people had the option of a dual carraigeway and motorway link between Tipperary and Cashel they would take it even if it meant going a few extra miles via Cahir. It would still end up as a faster, safer journey.

The public's views are to be sought later this month on a new proposed route for the Carrick-on-Suir Bypass as concerns mount among county councillors that this project and the proposed Tipperary Bypass have been put on the long finger by a cash strapped Government.

Calls were made at the September meeting of South Tipperary Co. Council for the plans to be scaled back and ring roads of Carrick-on-Suir and Tipperary be pushed for instead to allieve the traffic congestion that is choking both towns.

Fears were voiced that it could be as long as ten years before the bypasses were built due to the dire economic straits the country is at the moment.

But the Council's Roads Director Billy McEvoy insisted the Council was very positive about the projects' progress and confident of securing funding. .

He stressed the best chance of securing funding for the bypasses was to continue with progressing the current proposals for dual carriageway bypasses that would eventually link in with a new dual carriageway N24.

Councillors highlighted their concerns when Mr McEvoy updated them on the current status of the major N24 projects in planning.

Mr McEvoy reported that a public consultation process to inform the public and consult with affected landowners will get underway in the next week or so for the new preferred route for the Carrick-on-Suir By-Pass once the NRA approves the proposed corridor.

The Council plans to complete this stage of planning by the end of the year and to then proceed with publishing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the project.

The new preferred route of the Carrick-on-Suir Bypass replicates the old one along substantial sections of the western half of the scheme. It bypasses Carrick-on-Suir on a wider arc to the north of the town and extends into Co. Kilkenny which the previous route didn't.

It was decided to select a new preferred route two years ago when a review carried out by the NRA found Carrick-on-Suir had expanded up to and beyond the original preferred route.

He said it was anticipated that the EIS and CPO for the Cahir to Pallasgreen dual carriageway section will be prepared before the end of 2011. Once these are approved, an oral hearing will be convened by An Bord Pleanala.

The report was greeted with dismay by councillors. Fine Gael Cllr Michael Fitzgerald said he couldn't see anything happening with these road projects in the next ten years.

"We are talking about EIS reports, CPOs, talking about An Bord Pleanala, talking about reams of paper but quite honestly we are getting nowhere.

We know and the public knows that major road construction in this country is over for a while," he declared

He requested that the Council treat the Tipperary Town Bypass as a separate project and request funds to construct it to relieve the traffic problems on Tipperary's Main Street.

Cllr Fitzgerald's Tipperary Electoral Area colleagues Cllr Denis Leahy, Cllr John Crosse (FG) and Cllr Mary Hanna Hourigan supported the ring road option for Tipperary.

Carrick-on-Suir Cllr Denis Landy proposed that the Council also pursue a ring road for Carrick-on-Suir instead of the dual carriageway bypass as a "half measure" to sort Carrick-on-Suir's traffic problems.

"Now that the money is gone, we are waiting for this dual carriage when we would have been happy with a ring road. We have allowed ourselves to be codded by the NRA," he complained.

He said he was a "bit bamboozled" by Mr McEvoy's report concerning the review of the Carrick Bypass preferred route. He believed it was just another "fob off" and excuse by the NRA to delay the project.

Another Carrick-on-Suir councillor Sylvia Cooney-Sheehan said she was very concerned about the "phenomenal" amount of money already wasted on consultants for this project, whose work was not going to be used now. She asked was it possible to regurgitate some of their proposals for a ring road for Carrick-on-Suir.

Mr McEvoy responded that to get any road project along the N24 over the line the Council had to go through an oral hearing and justify its preferred route and through about six different planning phases.

The NRA made a strategic decision in 2007 to build the new N24 corridor as a type two dual carriageway and the Council pressed for that for safety and accessibility reasons.

In relation to Tipperary, he said there was no easy way to bypass the town due to the Galtee Mountains, the River Suir, railway and building development. Otherwise it would have been done years ago.

The best way to get the bypass constructed was to present a very postive cost benefit analysis of the project. The Council believed it had done this for the N24 section from Cahir to Pallasgreen and was making progress to the final phase.

On the Carrick-on-Suir Bypass, he said the Council believed this route will have a much better chance of getting through the oral hearing.

On consultants, he argued that the Council had to employ them in relation to issues like habitats, noise impact, landscaping as securing approval for a road project was a minefield and you can be tripped up.

County Manager Ned O'Connor said they shared councillors' frustration. He accepted there was some merit in taking out the Tipperary and Carrick-on-Suir sections but you first had to have the route in place and oral hearings completed.

The provision of environmental consultancy services in relation to the proposed N24 Pallasgreen to Cahir road scheme.The scheme is approximately 38km in length, and is currently at Preliminary Design stage.The services required include the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with relevant legislation and guidelines, the execution of all necessary environmental studies, surveys and consultations required for the EIS, publication of the EIS subject to the approval of the client, and preparation for, and attendance at oral hearings required for the statutory approval of the EIS. CPV: 71313000.