Bypass Ireland: Croom a 'shining light' as bypass injects new life into rural Limerick town

The Limerick village shows there is life in a town after being bypassed, as long as it remembers to put in a traffic management system, writes Neil Michael

Padraig Broderick owner of the Spar shop on Main Street, Croom, Co. Limerick. “The bypass allowed the town to breathe.” Photo: Dan Linehan

There is a lesson in Croom for anybody looking forward to a bypass around their town or village - don’t forget to put in a traffic management system.

When the Croom bypass was opened in June 2001, residents of the small Limerick town breathed a collective sigh of relief. Congestion had been an ever-worsening nightmare, with delays in getting through the town of up to 45 minutes – and that was just to get in and out.