Long-awaited Macroom bypass moves a step closer with CPO go-ahead

THE long-awaited bypass of a notorious bottleneck in Co Cork is back on track.

After years of delays, the National Roads Authority (NRA) confirmed yesterday that it has given Cork County Council the go-ahead to publish compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) for the 22 kilometre dual carriageway between Ballyvourney and Macroom.

The documents will show the area of land needed for the highway, part of which will bypass Macroom town on the main Cork to Killarney road.

However, it is not yet clear whether or when money will be made available to build the road.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe, who made the announcement, said that despite the pressures on the public finances, he will continue working to secure the “vital strategic investment”.

“The local authority can now publish the CPO – a move that signals clearly that the NRA considers the route a priority,” he said.

“It’s a welcome step towards our collective efforts to get work under way on the project which has been among my priorities as a local TD for some time.”

After years of talks and consultation, plans for the preferred route were published in 2006. The road is designed to run from Coolcower, to just west of Ballyvourney and Ballymakeera.

It was hoped to issue CPOs around the same time, allowing work to start in late 2007 or early 2008. It was envisaged the project would take two years to build, but the project was delayed until 2010 at the earliest.

The delays resulted in the formation last year of the Cork2Kerry Gateway Action Group, comprising business leaders, Macroom town councillors, Kerry county councillors, and members of the Irish Road Haulage Association.

They mounted a major campaign calling on the Government to prioritise the bypass.