Landowners on €1bn superhighway route face disruption

LANDOWNERS are facing significant disruption after the selection of a preferred route for a proposed €1 billion superhighway between Cork and Limerick.

Fri, 17 Oct, 2008 - 01:00

The red route, which runs west of Charleville and Croom, terminating at Patrickswell, is the preferred option for the main section of the Limerick to Charleville stretch of the 90km M20 motorway.

The M20 is part of the ambitious Atlantic Corridor Road Project designed to link Letterkenny to Waterford via Sligo, Tuam, Ennis, Limerick, Mallow and Cork.

Cork County Council and Limerick County Council, in conjunction with the National Roads Authority, appointed consultants earlier this year to progress design works on the scheme.

Arup Consulting Engineers was appointed to the Cork-Mallow section, with White Young Green appointed to the Mallow-Limerick section.

Preliminary route options were displayed in July and a preferred route corridor, the red route, was selected this week.

It is designed to motorway standard with a design speed of 120km/h.

Areas affected include lands east of Granagh and west of the N20, along with Rockhill, Garryfine, Cregane and Kiltoohig, west of Charleville.

The preferred route corridor will go on display in affected areas next week and the public has been invited to attend to raise questions or concerns.

A spokesperson for the design team said all submissions would be carefully considered before a final decision on the exact route.

The Atlantic Corridor is one of the big road projects to be delivered under Transport 21.

However, the Cork to Limerick section has not yet secured construction funding.

Subject to funding and statutory approval, construction could begin in late 2010 or early 2011, with the road completed by 2015.

The preferred route may also be viewed during normal office hours at the M20 design office in Gooldshill, Mallow.

It is hoped to display the chosen scheme next March.

M20 scheme display dates