Design update set to be published for N21 scheme

LIMERICK City and County Council are on target to publish a further design update early this year for the progression of the N21 Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West bypass scheme.

This will show the proposed mainline, side road realignments and junction designs as well as whether the road is in cut or on fill.

Proposed access arrangements, material deposition areas, watercourse diversions and the location of drainage ponds etc. will be shown. They will provide timeline estimates for the progression of the N21 Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West schemes.

The project team will also engage with affected landowners in a series of one-to-one meetings to discuss the scheme design within the lands affected.

Approximately €1.9m and €1.8m has been spent to date on the bypass schemes respectively.
Cllr Liam Galvin asked for an update on these schemes at the latest meeting of the Municipal District of Newcastle West last Wednesday and said he can see huge problems until Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West are bypassed. “We already have problems with traffic congestion, but what's going to happen is that the traffic is going to bypass the town via the rural roads.

“I think that's going to cause problems, and I think it's going to be a huge danger to the people on those roads and not to mention the people that will be bypassing the town.” The Fine Gael councillor said he doesn't want to have any hold ups on the Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale bypasses and wants them to be expedited as soon as possible and to work in-line with the Adare bypass.

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“We need to get Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West shovel ready because if we don't the very minute, Adare is bypassed, the next day the problem is going to arise in Newcastle and Abbeyfeale,” remarked Cllr Galvin. “We don't need to be rocket scientists to know that.”

Cllr Galvin explained that there will be problems on the byroads as motorists are already bypassing Adare via Granagh and Ballingarry. “They're going to do the very same with Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale. They'll go the old roads which aren't fit for purpose.”

Cllr Galvin added: “They're telling me they're moving as quickly as they can. Unfortunately, local government and An Bord Pleanála and these kind of people don't move at the pace that I'd like them to move at.”

Limerick City and County Council has progressed through Phase three of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) project management guidelines which includes design and preparation of statutory documents.

The design and environmental evaluation are substantially progressed to incorporate additional design requirements including consideration of the active travel facility cross section, the impacts of the 2023 speed limit review and the results from additional environmental surveys. The council have also carried out additional archaeological test excavations at various locations.

Prior to submitting a planning application to An Bord Pleanála, both projects will be subject to peer review by TII and the Department of Transport and a legal review of the Environmental Impact Assessment documents. The outcome of these approval processes can potentially result in programme delays.

The progression of the schemes is subject to the continued support of public funding for the projects.
The N21 Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale Road Schemes hope to significantly improve transport connectivity and provide more efficient access to other national roads such as the N23 and N22 to the south and the M20, N18/M18, M7 and N24 to the north and east.