Completing second phase of Bandon bypass 'particularly challenging'

Councillors warned amid concerns that traffic congestion in the Cork town is worsening

The first section of the N71 bypass, which skirts the southern side of Bandon, was completed 35 years ago but stops at the junction with the Kilbrittain Road. File picture

Completing the long-awaited second phase of the Bandon bypass will be "particularly challenging", Cork County Counci's head of roads has warned.

The warning comes amid concerns that traffic congestion in the town is worsening and that planned housing will place even greater pressure on an already strained road network.

The first section of the N71 bypass, which skirts the southern side of Bandon, was completed 35 years ago but stops at the junction with the Kilbrittain Road.

As a result, traffic travelling between Cork city and West Cork is still funnelled through parts of the town, contributing to increasing congestion on the N71 and on local roads linking the town centre and surrounding suburbs.

Pádraig Barrett, the council's head of roads and transportation, admitted that completing the southern bypass would be "particularly challenging" because of the difficulty in finding a route that is both "affordable and constructable".

He made his comments after Bandon-based Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan asked for an update on the proposed project.

“The Bandon bypass initially terminated close to the entrance to Presentation Convent School, with traffic having to funnel down 'Warner's Lane'. Eventually, the first phase was completed with traffic bypassing the town and connecting to the Kilbrittain Road,” said Ms Coughlan.

Second phase of bypass

The second phase would see the bypass extend west through Clancool before rejoining the N71 near Bernard's Bridge on the Clonakilty road, close to where Keary's Garage stands today.

“This road was to carry the hundreds of HGVs that transport goods to and from the west on a daily basis. In 2016, I asked the roads department the status of the completion of the Bandon bypass. There was mild consternation, it had not been on any agenda for decades. It was resurrected with scoping reports commissioned and public consultation on preferred route selection took place in 2022. The half-bypass remains,” Ms Coughlan said.

She said that in the meantime, the town has “developed apace", with multiple housing projects completed.

“That area is in dire need of a relief road. Due to the lack of enabling infrastructure on the southside, the town is stymied with regard to economic development. The completed bypass would open up lands for economic development. With a growing, educated population, Bandon should be able to provide employment for the thousands of workers who live there. This would help to alleviate the acute traffic,” Ms Coughlan said.

Mr Barrett said the emerging preferred corridor has been identified for the remaining section of the southern bypass and it is currently undergoing a peer group review by TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) inspectors.

He said details of the project would be provided to local councillors once the process had been finalised and TII approval confirmed, which he expected to happen within the next few months.

Plans are also being developed to ease traffic congestion on the northern side of the town through a proposed distributor road, he said.