Council moves to buy land for road

PLANS to build a highway linking Limerick city to Nenagh have advanced, with Limerick County Council publishing compulsory purchase orders (CPO) to buy land for the route.

The 38km dual carriageway will cost €293m and will cut journey times from Limerick to Dublin.

Landowners affected by the CPOs will be informed in the coming weeks.

It is estimated that up to 1,200 people have land on the road’s route, which covers an area of around 800 acres.

Many of these only own tiny sections of bogland along the N7.

If the CPO is approved by An Bord Pleanála this year, construction could begin early in 2006.

The motorway is set to be completed by 2009.

“People with objections have until February 26 to lodge them with Bord Pleanála,” a spokesperson for Limerick County Council said.

“The motorway will mark an improvement for drivers from both a safety and a comfort point of view.”

The dual carriageway will link the Limerick southern ring road near Annacotty - due to open this summer - to the Nenagh bypass.

The route could also link up with the proposed tunnel that’s set to be built in Limerick under the River Shannon by 2008.

“When all these developments are completed it will be of great benefit to those travelling to Shannon Airport,” Limerick Chamber of Commerce chairman John Rice said. The motorway is one of the key routes which was selected by the National Roads Authority under the National Development Plan. If the CPO is approved later this year then Limerick County Council will then prepare contract documents and invite tenders to design and build the route.