Carrigaline’s €2m ‘ghost road’ still not open

A €2 MILLION relief road in the town with Ireland’s highest rate of car dependency remained closed yesterday, four months after it was built.

Barriers blocked both exits of a 550m stretch of new road to the east of Carrigaline despite claims that it could take several hundred cars out of the congested town centre every day.

CSO figures last year showed that more people travel to work by car from Carrigaline than from any other Irish town.

The road linking the Crosshaven Road to the Ferney Road was built to relieve congestion and to allow for the development of up to 600 homes on nearby land.

Local councillor Michael McGrath said the situation was farcical and described it as a “ghost road.”

“This road was initially due to be open to the public last August,” he said. “The contractors are gone off the site since last September and the road still has not opened.

Cork County Council said the road can’t be opened because the ESB has yet to activate the street lights, but Mr McGrath couldn’t accept that excuse.

Meanwhile, Actons Consulting Engineers have been appointed to carry out an overall traffic and transportation study for Carrigaline.

It’s expected they’ll identity the need for a new outer western relief road to link the bottom of Carr’s Hill with Kilmoney where up to 1,500 homes will be built over the next six years.