Design work gets go-ahead to start on N25 relief road
The N25 is significantly over capacity with more than 19,000 vehicles per day travelling through Castlemartyr on busy days — almost double the daily traffic on the Waterford-Dublin motorway. File picture: Neil Michael
The green light has been given for the appointment of consultants to design a large relief road on the main Cork to Waterford road that was at the centre of a major political stand-off just over two years ago.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork East, James O’Connor, the party’s spokesperson on transport who threatened to quit in 2021 over funding for the N25 Midleton to Youghal project, described the announcement as a major milestone.
“The upgrading of the N25 around Castlemartyr and Killeagh will make a significant positive impact on quality of life in the East Cork area," he said.
In 2021, Mr O’Connor threatened to quit Fianna Fáil after the road project was not included in allocations listed in the National Development Plan (NDP). He said he had been told in “good faith” that €54m would be provided in the NDP for a relief road at Castlemartyr and Killeagh — but that did not materialise.
He said, at the time, he felt as if he had been “lied to” by “a multitude of colleagues” but that it “would be unfair to lay the blame at anyone’s feet”.
Following a meeting days later with his party leader, and then Taoiseach Micheál Martin, he said “guarantees” were made about the road project and he felt confident that the government was going to give its full support to the project.
Now, it has been confirmed that the Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland have both sanctioned the appointment of a design consultant for the N25 scheme which will involve route selection and public consultation.
The stretch of N25 connecting Midleton to Youghal via Killeagh and Castlemartyr is one of the most dangerous sections of national road in the country. It is also a notorious bottleneck.
It is significantly over capacity with more than 19,000 vehicles per day travelling through Castlemartyr on busy days — almost double the daily traffic on the Waterford-Dublin motorway.
Delays in excess of 20 minutes are common on the eastbound lane entering Castlemartyr, with many motorists choosing to avoid tailbacks via Ladysbridge and Mogeely.
Mr O’Connor said it has also been the site of several major accidents and he has been advocating for major investment to upgrade the road at Killeagh and Castlemartyr since his election to Dáil Éireann four years ago.
“For Youghal, this project represents a major opportunity to turn the tide on the town’s economic prospects with reduced journey times to Cork making it more competitive for investment," he said.
The design work and public consultation could take several years before planning approval is sought.
Pending planning approval, funding for construction will have to be approved before construction work starts. It could be several more years before the relief road is built.
