Five options revealed for overhaul of interchange

The need to end the gridlock at city’s key road junction has intensified, writes Sean O’Riordan

THE busiest road junction outside of Dublin is gridlocked, stifling economic development and urgently requires a major overhaul, which could cost up to €100 million.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) has unveiled five options for the redevelopment of the interchange at the Jack Lynch Tunnel/Dunkettle roundabout, which copes with approximately 95,000 vehicles a day.

At peak times motorists are snarled in serious gridlock and the NRA is aware that something needs to be done to allow for the development of the Cork region and that speedy access to and from it is a key component for economic recovery.

The junction is the main artery feeding Cork’s business heartland. The tunnel connects the northern and southern sides of the city and also links with the main Cork-Dublin road (N8) and the Cork-Waterford road (N25).

In the future it will also have to provide a link to the Atlantic Corridor, connecting Cork with Sligo.

It is envisaged that another junction will be built at the northern end of the Glanmire bypass, with a connection across the northside of the city to the Cork-Limerick road, feeding into the Atlantic corridor.

The need for a major crossing of the River Lee was identified as far back as the late 1970s as congestion mounted in Cork city centre.

It was never envisaged when the four-lane, two bore 1.85km-long tunnel opened on May 31, 1999 that it would carry as many vehicles as it does today.

Initial predictions stated that the tunnel would cope with up to 30,000 vehicles each weekday.

Today the tunnel alone carries 60,000 vehicles each day, all of which have to negotiate the signalised roundabout on the northern side of the tunnel, slowing down journey times.

The same roundabout also has to cope with traffic coming out of the city centre along the Tivoli dual carriageway which is heading north to Dublin.

At peak times in the morning traffic can tailback more than two kilometres on the northern side of the tunnel and on occasions nearly as far as the Little Island interchange on the eastern side.

In the evenings in particular, commuters on their way home often join queues on the South Ring Road adjacent to the Rochestown Park Hotel.

The NRA wants to divert as much unnecessary traffic away from the signalised roundabout on the northern side of the tunnel as it can, so as to speed up access through the tunnel itself.

For example, traffic heading for Dublin has to do so by accessing the roundabout just metres from the mouth of the tunnel.

A new dedicated slip road is planned on the western side of the tunnel which would take traffic directly up the Dublin road, instead of it having to first pass through the roundabout.

By creating further dedicated slip lanes and elevated loops, a lot of traffic will be removed from the roundabout and getting rid of the lights will enhance “freeflow”.

The NRA’s consultants, Dublin-based Jacobs Engineering, are working on computer-generated traffic flow models for each of the five options to see which one works best.

NRA spokesman Sean O’Neill said the junction represented “a critical piece of infrastructure” not just for Cork but for the whole south-west region.

“It is equivalent in importance to the M50 corridor, which is now flowing freely because traffic lights have been removed,” Mr O’Neill said.

The options under consideration would cope with traffic increases in the area for the next 30 years. The construction of flyovers, loops etc would have a minimum lifespan of 120 years.

“The junction is the economic backbone of the Cork region. 90% of freight traffic is carried by HGVs so the upgrading of the junction is important to the economic wellbeing of the region,” Mr O’Neill said.

The NRA has jealously guarded land around the interchange for years, primarily to ensure it has enough space to expand the road network, or as Mr O’Neill puts it “to protect the taxpayers’ investment”.

The roads authority was previously successful with Bord Pleanála in objecting to a number of development plans in the Cork region, primarily because of the inability of the interchange to cope with ever increasing traffic flow.

It first won a battle with a developer who planned to build 1,200 houses on the grounds of Dunkettle House, which overlooks the tunnel’s northern approaches.

The NRA said the development, proposed by O’Flynn Construction, would “add to further pressure on the interchange” and would be “premature” until it had upgraded the major road network.

It also made a successful objection against plans by Iarnród Éireann and Cork County Council to use a greenfield site close to the former Ibis Hotel to create a park and ride commuter railway station.

The NRA claimed it might require the land earmarked for the station for part of its interchange upgrade.

The Port of Cork’s plans for a new €120 million cargo terminal at Ringaskiddy were also scuppered because Bord Pleanála decided, in part, that congestion at Jack Lynch Tunnel was so critical that more juggernauts passing through it as a result of that project would grind the underwater crossing to a complete halt.

The Port authority believes that the deep water quay at Ringaskiddy is the most viable option for its container terminal, although it is looking at the jetty at the former IFI plant at Marino Point, Cobh.

Mr O’Neill said the NRA wanted to ensure an integrated transport system in the area, and that didn’t mean the park and ride station was off the agenda.

He stressed that discussions were ongoing between the NRA and Iarnród Éireann to develop a station in the locality.

If opened it would undoubtedly be the busiest station on the Cork-Midleton commuter line as many people from north and east Cork would be likely to opt to leave their car at the park and ride, thus avoiding lengthy queues along the Tivoli dual carriageway at peak times as well as expensive parking charges in the city.

“Without question we want to work on integrating all transport. Once our discussions conclude we will see a proper place (for the railway station) identified,” Mr O’Neill said.

Iarnród Éireann owns an extensive freight yard at North Esk, part of which could eventually be chosen as the site for the new station. In all of the NRA options there are proposals to create a dedicated slip road off the M8 heading southbound from the Caherlag area directly down towards North Esk, which would accommodate traffic heading to the park and ride.

Mr O’Neill declined to comment on whether the junction upgrading would allow for the development of the Port of Cork’s proposed cargo terminal in Ringaskiddy, or the O’Flynn Construction €400 million project at Dunkettle.

He said he was not aware at this stage if the Government would introduce toll charges in the area to pay for the project.

“I’m not aware of any tolling right now. That would be a Government policy decision,” Mr O’Neill added.

The question remains in this pot-hole riddled economy, if the Government will release any cash for such an ambitious project, or will motorists foot the bill at toll booths?