Council plans to bypass National Roads Authority

CORK County Council plans to bypass the National Roads Authority in providing a relief route for one of the fastest-growing towns in the south-west.

Traffic-clogged Bantry has been waiting for a bypass road for 32 years. And the council has adopted a proposal by Councillor John O’Shea that the scheme could be co-financed between the local authority and the Department of the Environment.

An application will be made to the department to assist the €6 million project under the 2006 non-national roads programme.

The Bantry-based councillor said: “in the past, the council has used a similar department scheme to secure funding for major improvements to the Glengarriff-Castletownbere road.

“In a sense, we are going down a new road to look for funding for the bypass,” he said.

Cllr O’Shea said the council had also set aside €600,000 to acquire land along the proposed route of the 3.2 kilometre bypass from Newtown on the Glengarriff Road to Sadler’s Cross on the main eastern approach to Bantry.

“In terms of infrastructure deficiencies in Bantry, the bypass road is the single biggest issue,” he added.

The Fine Gael councillor said the decision by the council to adopt his motion was the first concrete step in securing the bypass. “Up to now, the relief road was wishful thinking,” he said.

The department is expected to make a decision on funding for the Bantry scheme in August.