Council: Bypass will divert 70% of vehicles away from town

A LONG-AWAITED bypass road for Castleisland, due to be open to traffic by the end of this year, will divert about 9,000 vehicles away from Co Kerry town, each day.

The €34 million bypass will result in about 70% of the traffic that currently goes though Castleisland being taken away from the town, according to Kerry County Council.

Construction work on the 5.5km bypass, which started last May, is progressing on schedule, project manager Donal O’Shea yesterday told an on-site media briefing.

“The structural work, earth works and drainage have all been completed and the exceptionally wet weather during the winter was probably the biggest obstacle we encountered,” he said.

There are 11 structures along the route, which runs through farmland on the western and northern sides of Castleisland, including bridges, culverts and underpasses.

There are three roundabouts on the road, which will have both a dual and single carriageway.

Four badger passes and two otter ledges have also been included.

The bypass will intersect existing roads linking Castleisland to Killarney, Tralee and Limerick.

Castleisland, the main route into Kerry from Dublin and Limerick, has been a notorious traffic bottleneck for decades, with long tailbacks regularly experienced, and the bypass has been a hot political issue for several years.

Paul Curry, of the National Road Authority’s Kerry design office, said 9,000 of the estimated 13,000 vehicles that currently pass through Castleisland each day will use the bypass.

“It’s obvious the town itself is going to get considerably quieter,” he added.

“But, it should also be pointed out that traffic from outlying areas which has tended to stay away from Castleisland because of the congestion will start coming in again and that should be of benefit to the town.”

The council acquired land from 32 landowners along the route, but no dwellings/houses had to be demolished.