Kerry council urges speed-up of route selection for Cork-Tralee road

Project had effectively been mothballed since 2021 because of lack of funding, councillors told

More than 24,000 cars now travel along the substandard road, which is part of the main road between Cork and Tralee, council heard. Picture: Denis Minihane

Kerry County Council has been urged to speed up route selection plans for the major N22 artery on hold in recent years because of the lack of Department of Transport/ Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) grant allocation for route selection.

The plans were on hold so long the project consultants had to be stood down, the council’s director of roads revealed.

The surprise allocation of €750,000 was announced by the TII last week for the Killarney to Farranfore route with links to Muckross.

Four routes had been put forward, with one to have been selected by the end of 2022.

But the project had effectively been mothballed since 2021 because of lack of funding, the monthly council meeting was told in Tralee on Monday morning.

Land has been sterilised for years along almost 30km of the route.

It is almost a quarter of a century since plans for an entirely new route were unveiled, councillors said.

A new route was unveiled and selected. However, the project was shelved with the economic downturn in 2008.

More than 24,000 cars now travel along the substandard road, which is part of the main road between Cork and Tralee.

A new project in train since 2018 has also stop-started. The 27km project with links to the N71 in Muckross has progressed to route selection. 

Four corridors have been chosen but a preferred option by December 2022 was suddenly withdrawn as it had to be climate change proofed, councillors were told But not enough grant money was made available by the TII/Department of Transport to complete this.

Killarney area councillor Maura Healy-Rae said just weeks ago no funding had been put aside in the 2024 roads investment programme for the project, her father the TD Danny Healy-Rae was told at an Oireachtas transport committee meeting.

This had sent “shockwaves,” she said.

The grant money of €750,000 from Transport Infrastructure Ireland was allocated after the table of the 2024 grant allocations for national roads and greenways amounting to €28.6m for Kerry had been relayed to councillors and officials, the meeting heard.

Kerry County Council director of roads services Frank Hartnett said the allocation would allow the emerging preferred transport option to be determined and close out phase 2 of the project.

Pressed by Independent councillor Brendan Cronin about the timeline, Mr Hartnett said the TII was seeking the selection be finalised by the final quarter of the year.

The allocation was "great news", Mr Hartnett said.

However, the design had been on hold for a year and the consultants had had to be “stood down".

The roads design office is now “re-engaging with the consultants”, and the council members would be updated.

Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae said the fact the consultants’ team had had to be stood down while such an important project had been stalled was an example of “the reckless nonsense” of the Government the council had to deal with.

There was reaction from other councillors too. Fine Gael councillor Patrick Connor-Scarteen urged that cycleways and walkways be considered “essential’ to the design of the Lissivigeen to Muckross leg and be included.