Trucks could opt for Macroom again 'unless access road kept'

A section of the new Macroom bypass looking west of Macroom near the new roundabout at Carrigaphooka. Issues of access at Macroom bypass could see trucks opting again for the town, according to councillors. Picture Dan Linehan

The imminent opening of a section of the Macroom-Baile Mhúirne bypass has ignited a public campaign to retain a temporary access point deemed crucial for local traffic and business.

A temporary roundabout at Carrigaphooka, where the first section of the bypass which opened last December ends, will be removed between August 8 and 11, prior to the opening of the next section of road to Tún Lán, near Baile Mhúirne.

A petition has begun to retain access at Carrigaphooka, amid fears businesses will lose passing trade and heavy goods traffic will return to Macroom.

“Our business will literally be bypassed by the opening of this road,” said Lars Edman, MD of Prince August toy soldier factory in Cill na Martra. 

“It will make it much more difficult to acquire customers as the nearest accesses are from Macroom at the Millstreet cross, and at Ballymakeera."

Mr Edman initiated a Change.org online petition ‘Access to Macroom Bypass’ and said with the Carrigaphooka roundabout closed, people living between Macroom and Baile Mhúirne would revert to driving through Macroom to get to Cork, as would large trucks.

“The original plans included slip road access at Carrigaphooka and land has already been acquired,” he claimed. 

“People have not realised how functional this access is. It serves a big part of West Cork as far away as Castletown-Bearhaven.” 

Gearóid Ó hÉalaithe had made representations on the bypass plans as chairperson of community group Coiste Forbartha Cill na Martra. 

“The last time I had a meeting with the NRA they were considering an exit at Con Lynch’s bridge [near Mons bar] which they did not agree to, but they said that in the worst case scenario it would be on-off [access] at Carrigaphooka, with signage,” he said.

“The Coiste Forbartha were very disappointed when it became clear there was no on-off at Carrigaphooka. I was totally unaware of that until the project started."
The Carrigaphooka issue was raised in the Dáil by TDs Michael Creed and Aindrias Moynihan. 

“I understood there was going to be access there,” said Mr Moynihan. 

"I raised it in the Dáil with the Taoiseach the week before last and he was going to follow up with the minister for transport. I met the minister for transport the following day and he was of the view that the time was gone for making changes on the road. He felt it had been left too late,” he said.

Fine Gael councillor Ted Lucey said the loss of access at Carrigaphooka would cause “big problems for Macroom town with trucks coming back in”.

A report released last week by Cork County Council showed a 53.8% reduction in nitrogen dioxide levels in the town since the first phase of the bypass opened and this air quality improvement could be lost, he said. 

“We’re certainly going to get about 15% of the trucks back into the town. It will have a knock-on effect.” 

Access at Carrigaphooka “definitely should be there and I would support it 110%,” he said.

“Originally we thought it was being done but all of a sudden it wasn’t; it was taken out. I really would love to see even a slip road there because I think it’s so important for the traffic coming from the west, up from Castletownbere, and from Ballingeary.

“The bypass is fantastic, but they’ve spent €1.2m putting [the temporary roundabout] there to open it in December - surely they could put a slip road in. It’s absolutely fantastic for the town of Macroom but another few hundred thousand could sort out the whole problem.”