Group vows to pressurise Government for town bypass

A GROUP has vowed to increase pressure on the Government to deliver the delayed bypass of a Cork town.

As Macroom — on the busy tourist route to Killarney — faces another summer of choking traffic, the Cork to Kerry Gateway Action Group is planning a sustained lobbying campaign to fast-track the delivery of the multimillion euro project.

Comprised of local townspeople, and supported by business leaders, Macroom town councillors, Kerry county councillors, and the Irish Road Haulage Association, the group will meet next week to plan its strategy.

Co-founder Pat Melia said the group was borne out of years of frustration.

“We are a community lobby group and we want to secure funding and a start date for this road project,” he said.

“National Road Authority (NRA) figures show that last August Bank Holiday weekend, 35,000 vehicles passed through the town. All the statistics show that every town which has been bypassed has benefited enormously.”

After years of talks and consultation, plans for the preferred route for the 21km super bypass of Macroom were published in 2006. The road is designed to run from Coolcower, two miles east of Macroom, to just west of Ballyvourney and Ballymakeera.

Locals were told that it was hoped to issue compulsory purchase orders almost immediately and that work could start in late 2007 or early 2008. It was envisaged that the project would take about two years to build.

But the project has been delayed until 2010 at the earliest.

It has been grouped with at least 130 other significant road projects which will be considered by the NRA for funding at that stage.

But Mayor of Macroom, Cllr Ted Lucey (FG), said only 25 road projects are set to get the green light at that stage.

“Macroom will have to be lucky enough to be pulled out of the hat,” he said.

“The traffic is crippling us. Recent surveys show that about 17,000 vehicles pass through the town every day.

“And we’re coming in to the really busy tourist season and things are only going to get worse.

“People aren’t coming in to the town anymore. They’re going to Ballincollig or Killarney.”