Plans for Killarney-Tralee relief road to be redesigned, council told

Plans for a major road to ease traffic on the main Killarney-Tralee Road, which first went on public display in 2004, will need to be redesigned before it can finally proceed, a meeting has been told.

The 27km scheme, which was to ease congestion 16 years ago was suspended during the economic downturn.

It included a southern bypass to link the busy N71 Ring of Kerry tourist route in Muckross to Lissivigeen, which has been under severe pressure with large coaches and other traffic.

The route had been revised several times before being suspended altogether in 2009.

An allocation of €500,000 has now been cleared by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, councillors were told by Kerry County Council chief executive officer Moira Murrell. This is a very positive thing and a clear sign the process is commencing, she said adding:

"We are all agreed the town has a significant problem.”

However, the old designs cannot simply be dusted off.

Raising the issue of chronic traffic congestion in Killarney, independent Killarney councillor Niall “Botty” O’Callaghan described traffic problems in and around the tourist town as “crazy”.

He stressed the urgent need for a solution, particularly for the relief section between Muckross and the N22 and asked why there was a need for a new design. The plans had been on display when he was "a young fella", he said.

“The land wouldn’t have moved,” Cllr O'Callaghan said.

However, Ms Murrell said environmental directives and other regulations had come in since and new plans were needed.

“We have to go back to go forward,” she said. The first priority would be the Muckross to Lissivigeen link, she added.

In 2018, Transport Minister Shane Ross revealed in a Dáil reply that the expected cost for the 27km route on the N22 from Killarney was “between €160 million and €200 million”. The minister also acknowledged that the bypass northern relief road built in Killarney in the 1990s was used by around 18,000 vehicles per day and was “above capacity”.

Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism has repeatedly warned the town's tourism industry is under threat because of the traffic issues.