Another delay for O’Connell street works

IT COULD now be April before the multi-million euro revitalisation of O’Connell Street is complete, the Limerick Leader has learned.

And in a bid to ensure the project is finished as soon as possible, its contractors have ramped up the number of workers on site.

Work on the multi-million euro revamp of Limerick’s main thoroughfare began in April 2021 with a projected completion date of November 2022.

Now, sources with knowledge of the project have indicated it might not be until after Easter when the work is 100% finished.

And, the Leader understands that in an effort to get the multi-million euro scheme over the line as soon as possible, the contractor, Shareridge has increased the number of staff it has on site by around 15% of workers.

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Once complete, the redevelopment of O’Connell Street will see wider footpaths to allow people gather, planters, new seating areas, and spill-out zones from shops and cafes.

The new plan sees general traffic being reduced to one lane on the street – and a bus lane.

As part of the €9.1m project, street furniture and water features are also being added. A central plaza at Thomas Street beside Brown Thomas will offer the potential for a future artwork to be installed to create a further focal point for pedestrian gathering and on-street trading.

Last year, the then mayor of Limerick, Cllr Daniel Butler said work on O’Connell Street will be largely complete by September 2022 – with the final touches in place two months later.

However, in September, the Leader revealed a fresh completion date of November 25 had been set – but if this was missed, workers would move off site for Christmas and return in January, with the hope it would be complete early in 2023. Now it appears that it will be more than a quarter of the way into this year before this happens.

Shareridge referred queries from this newspaper to Arup, the council’s representatives on site. Arup referred the Leader to the local authority. Limerick City and County Council had not commented on the matter at the time of going to press.