Waterford road project could begin next year

SENIOR design staff involved in the development of the long-awaited Waterford to Kilcullen dual carriageway say they hope to begin the first phase of the 64km route by this time next year.

The prediction comes as the five-day An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the roads project is expected to come to an end tomorrow. The route of the roads will be finalised pending the outcome of the hearing.

Between 15 and 20 of the 195 objectors to the road plan have made oral submissions to the hearing - among them Michelle Smith de Bruin and the Bennettsbridge Action Group.

“We will be continuing on Monday afternoon and probably all day on Tuesday,” said project manager, Joe Gannon.

He said they were very happy with how the hearing had gone so far, with just a handful of submissions remaining to be heard.

Diggers are expected on site for the first phase of the 64km road project in spring 2006.

That section of the roadway from Waterford to Knocktopher will take two years to complete.

Work on the second section, from Knocktopher to Powerstown, will begin in the autumn of 2007.

It is anticipated that work will now be completed ahead of the original deadline of the end of 2010, maybe as early as autumn 2010, Mr Gannon says.

“We had submissions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of last week and Wednesday and Thursday of the week before. Some people could not make it last week and they are travelling this afternoon.

“Everyone who wanted to has had a chance to tell of their objections. We hope to be in a position to have answered all of their questions by Tuesday afternoon.

“We don’t anticipate any delays in the project and it’s still scheduled to begin by this time next year,” he added.

The bulk of objections to the road were to the Environmental Impact Statement. Others were to the Compulsory Purchase Orders. Two homes will have to be demolished to make way for the road and a number of farms will be affected.

The project will be one of the largest road developments ever undertaken in the country. It will involve the moving of one million cubic metres of topsoil as well as 5.7 million cubic metres of general cut.