N62 Thurles Bypass route unveiled

Amtmann

Mayor Michéal Lowry has welcomed the selection of the route for the proposed Thurles Bypass. The route which was selected was the Green Route (click the image to the left to view all routes). The final draft for route is due to be published in the coming weeks, detailing the exact route of the road, which will lie within the selected Green route.

Speaking following a meeting between local Councillors and NRA Engineers in relation to the Thurles By-Pass Project, Mayor of North Tipperary Michéal Lowry has welcomed confirmation that after a protracted time period, fraught with delays, the Thurles By-Pass route has now been finalised. Councillor Lowry stated that today is a bittersweet day for the people of Thurles and the surrounding areas in that “we finally have a definitive route however it seems that on foot of a decent ministerial decision the project may not be able to move forward”.

Mayor Lowry stated that
“During the lifetime of the last Government, with the assistance and perseverance of Deputy Lowry, this project was placed on to the NRA priority list within the Mid-West area. Almost €1 million of funding was secured to complete phase one and phase two of the project, resulting in today’s announcement”.

“In light of the possible funding difficulties I am calling on two sitting Government Deputies, one of whom is a Junior Minister in the very department with responsibility for this project, to stand up for the people of Thurles and find the funding to progress the by-pass to the next stage. It is estimated that €600,000 would allow the design team to complete the planning process, with a further €4-5 million then required for the purchasing of lands”.

Mayor Lowry stressed that following the extensive route modeling and micro-simulation testing carried out as part of the feasibility into the project the NRA have confirmed that the proposed by-pass is an essential infrastructure for the future growth of Thurles Town.

“Since the election of the new government we have seen nothing but bad news and disappointment for the people of Thurles. Our local government deputies have allowed the Tipperary Venue project to fall at the final hurdle, followed closely by the closure of 22 beds in our community hospital. They are now telling us that there is no funding to progress a by-pass project that is crucial to our town. The Government Deputies must represent all of their constituency and prove their loyalty to the people of Thurles. The time has come to honour the commitments made during the general election campaign”.

Mayor Lowry concluded by saying that it was his opinion that if funding is not provided to advance the Thurles by-pass it will prove to be a missed opportunity to protect the viability of the town of Thurles.

http://tippnorth.com/?p=1111

Badly needed from a local/regional point of view, but because it's not a national priority I fear the plans will languish for years to come.

Patsy fyre

We will still be talking about this in 20 years time....ie IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN.

tipptom

Maybe if Michael Lowry had pushed that bit more for the by pass instead of his personal demand for 3 cronies to get on state boards including his public relations lady it might have got the go ahead.

touts

This announcement is a pure PR job. It will never happen. He might as well announce the creation of 2000 new jobs in an umbrella factory owned by Mary Poppins.

clansman

touts wrote: »

This announcement is a pure PR job. It will never happen. He might as well announce the creation of 2000 new jobs in an umbrella factory owned by Mary Poppins.

Hey that umbrella factory have good benefits!
Don't know it!!!

jonnybravo

Even getting the project to this stage has been such a waste of money. I think they've spent millions on this already. No wonder why the country is in the mess it is. It was never going to happen even in the good days. It'll cost another e48m to finish. The benefits of it will never amount to anywhere near this figure.