Town given the slip

NOW that the Watergrasshill section of the N8 bypass is completed and the long-awaited Fermoy section is about to commence, it seems that everything in the garden is not as rosy as had been expected.

In the original plans there was provision for a slip-road off this bypass on the eastern side of Fermoy on to the Tallow road. This was ideal for access to Fermoy for work or shopping or for those on their way to Dublin or Mitchelstown if the occasion arose that they had some business in Fermoy.

Can you imagine their horror to find that now they will not be able to do this? The next slip-road will be at Moorepark, two miles from Fermoy. I have made extensive enquiries and can get no reason for the withdrawal of the Tallow road slip-road.

Could it be someone’s brainwave to save a few thousand euro? Or maybe it’s the result of the Fermoy people protesting against the proposed tolling of this bypass.

Of course there will be slip-roads at Watergrasshill and Rathcormac, but not two miles after passing them by.

I think that the removal of this slip-road from the plans is an insult to the people of Fermoy who, for long enough, have looked forward to the various benefits to be gained from the bypass of the town.

A step backwards for Fermoy when, like every other town, we should be going forward.

Joseph Curran,

Lisnasallagh,

Fermoy,

Co Cork.