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Irish Independent
Saturday November 17th 2001
by Eugene Hogan
Plans for the country's new dual-carriageways/motorways could yet face a court challenge, it emerged yesterday as two significant routes for the N7 corridor were announced.
On the same day that the Castletown, Co Laois to Nenagh, Co Tipperary and Nenagh to Limerick city routes were outlined, a lobby group for farmers and householders affected on the latter section warned that they may be left with no alternative but to mount a court challenge to the project.
Barry Gleeson, spokesperson for the Nenagh to Limerick Community Steering Group said that the group has grave concerns about the selection process for the routes.
Mr Gleeson argued that all alternatives for a transport strategy have not been explored and unless a "fair and thorough" process is entered into, a court challenge will be mounted.
"We are seeking more information about the whole process but this is not forthcoming. We want to ensure that every alternative has been explored and do not feel that that has happened," said Mr Gleeson.
"The only way for that to take place is to have a proper environmental impact study and the fact that this will only be done now that the routes have been selected is surely a case of putting the cart before the horse.
"Surely an environmental impact study, which would look at all alternatives available and determine exactly what would satisfy traffic needs, should be carried out before a route is selected and the way the National Roads Authority has gone about this is a contradiction in terms," he said.
The routes outlined yesterday will involve 72km of roadway, and will cut the average off-peak travel time between Dublin and Limerick by 30 minutes.
Altogether the two routes will cost somewhere in the region of £240m to develop, with the cost of land acquisition expected to come to an additional 10pc. A further £10m will be spent on upgrading the existing single-lane Nenagh by-pass, which was opened last year, to motorway standard.
The development of the high quality roads, which will both be completed by the end of 2006, will consume 340 hectares - 180 hectares from Nenagh to Limerick and 160 for Castletown to Nenagh - and affect 200 landowners.
However, the NRA has managed to limit the number of dwelling houses that will have to be demolished to make way for the two roads to just 11 houses.
There will only be one toll plaza, at Birdhill, ten miles from Limerick, as tolls can only apply to motorways and not dual-carriageways. The toll charge has not been set but is expected to be between 1 and 2.
The NRA stressed yesterday that motorists will still have the option of travelling on the existing N7, thus avoiding the tolls. The new motorways are expected to halve present traffic levels - up to 13,000 vehicles daily - on the current main road and will cater for an estimated 24,000 vehicles per day by 2025.
Farmers and householders affected were informed by post yesterday of the chosen routes. An Environmental Impact Study will now be prepared and followed by a Compulsory Purchase Order for the Lands which is expected to take place in the middle of next year.
Individual landowners affected will be entitled to appeal to An Bord Pleanala.
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