Cork council to advance case for major road upgrades to ease traffic congestion in Cobh
Belvelly Bridge is prone to flooding, the council said. Picture: Larry Cummins
Cork County Council will create a business case to develop the long-awaited Great Island Connectivity Scheme, a €250m project to ease travel woes for residents of Cobh.
The project aims to improve connectivity to and from Cobh by “addressing resilience and vulnerabilities in the transport network”, with residents currently faced with a poor road network, which provides only one way in and out of the town.
“The scheme shall provide a high-quality transportation solution and when complete shall connect strategically important elements of the existing land transport around Cobh and Great Island,” the council has said.
In its documents, it details how Great Island is home to Cork county’s second largest town, Cobh, with a population of 14,148 in the 2022 census, and which is expected to grow to 15,836 by 2028.
The only road connection to Cobh is the R624, Cobh Road, which has an average daily traffic volume of 18,968.
It connects the N25 north of Belvelly Bridge at Cobh Cross Junction, acting as a vital link to the town and Great Island.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley, said: “This is a transformative project for Great Island and the wider region. It will not only improve daily life for residents but also strengthen economic opportunities and resilience.
"The commencement of the tender process marks the first step toward delivering a vital piece of infrastructure that will serve generations to come.”
The scheme is expected to facilitate “sustainable growth” of the area and support climate action in the transport sector.
The council has also highlighted constraints that will have to be considered as part of the business case, including the existing road being situated within the Great Island Channel and Cork Harbour, which are important areas for conservation and “may have a large impact on any proposed infrastructure solution”.
It added extensive modelling and assessment are required to prove a business case for transport interventions.
Cork County Council has produced several reports on the project since 2019, but it has not progressed further than the preliminary business case stage.
It previously told the : “The project, as submitted, includes upgrading the existing N25-R624 interchange, the provision of a dual carriageway from the interchange to Marino Point, widening of Slatty Bridge, the provision of a new bridge crossing to Great Island at Belvelly, and upgrading the existing R624 from Marino Point to Cobh.”
Cork East TDs have repeatedly asked for updates on the scheme from the minister for transport, including Social Democrat Liam Quaide, Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy and Fianna Fáil’s James O’Connor last month.
In response, Darragh O’Brien said the council had submitted a brief for the appointment of consultants 12 months ago to the department for review.
“An allocation of €350,000 was made to Cork County Council as part of the 2025 regional and local roads grants to assist in the development of the preliminary business case,” he said.
In the Government’s sectoral review for transport for the National Development Plan, unveiled last month, the Great Island Connectivity Scheme was included.
It said procurement would happen for the main works by 2029, with construction commencing by 2030. It gave an estimated budget of between €100m and €250m.
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