Concerns over future of major Cork roads project
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Councillors in Cork are writing to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and the IDA seeking clarification on the future of a critical roads project for the region.
It comes amid fears the proposed upgrade of the N25 between Cork and Waterford has been postponed or shelved entirely, in a move which could have major consequences for the development of commuter rail and thousands of new homes in the region.
The matter emerged during a meeting of the Cobh Municipal District Council when local Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said he had been made aware the planned upgrade of the main road between Carrigtwohill and Midleton had been put on hold.
Mr Barry, who owns a farm in Carrigtwohill, said he had acquired information that the plan has been mothballed. While pleased in one respect he won't lose some of his land through compulsory purchase orders, on the other hand he expressed concern it would have a massive negative impact on future development and the safety of motorists.
Mr Barry flagged the matter during a council district meeting, labelling the current stretch of road "a deathtrap".
“The only safety works carried out on this dual carriageway have been to close some medians [road crossings] on it. If this road was in the Dublin area it would have been upgraded years ago. It is another example of Cork projects being overlooked."
Mr Barry said he was concerned any axing of the upgrade would impact on the proposed development of 5,000 houses between Carrigtwohill and Water Rock, Midleton, as well as on future development at IDA land in Carrigtwohill, including the massive vacant site once earmarked for the US biopharma giant Amgen.
Labour councillor Cathal Rasmussen said if rumours it had been axed are true it was “very bad news for the whole area”. Fine Gael councillor Sinéad Sheppard and Fianna Fáil councillor Sheila O'Callaghan said there was little point spending a huge amount of time working on the latest county development plan – a blueprint for future development in the region until 2028 – if such projects weren't going ahead as they were there to support other developments.
Green Party councillor Alan O'Connor said the council needed clarity as a matter of urgency.
Earlier this week, the Irish Examiner also reported on frustrations from councillors throughout Cork over the lack of new infrastructure delivered by Irish Water, which, they said, could also undermine plans for thousands of new homes, as outlined in the County Development Plan.
Some 29,000 additional homes are needed to keep pace with population growth, according to the plan, though councillors are now becoming increasingly vocal that infrastructural delays could hamper this.