Ballincollig bypass junction upgrade to prevent traffic queues

Council plans to add traffic lights at key Cork junction

Traffic exiting the N40 Junction 1 on the N40 Ballincollig Bypass. File Picture: Denis Minihane.

Cork City Council is set to upgrade a key junction on Cork's N40 Ballincollig Bypass due to safety concerns over long queues of vehicles exiting the carriageway during rush hours.

The Council has opened public consultation on plans to add traffic lights and reshape the roundabouts at N40 Junction 1 at Poulavone. Queues on the junction’s westbound exit ramp regularly back up onto the N40 hard shoulder.

The Part 8 scheme is being progressed with Transport Infrastructure Ireland and was designed by AtkinsRéalis. It would extend the central islands of the two roundabouts on either side of the overbridge to form single-lane “teardrop” roundabouts. The two would work as one system, so vehicles could no longer U-turn within either roundabout.

Signals would go in on the westbound off-ramp and on the southbound approach across the overbridge, giving priority to traffic leaving the N40. Detector loops on four approaches would let signal timings adjust to traffic in real time.

The junction was built in 2004 and links the N40 with the N22, Ballincollig, Curraheen Road and Carrigrohane. According to the consultation documents, the works would stay within the existing road footprint, so no land acquisition is needed. Speed limits, lighting and safety barriers would be unchanged, and construction is expected to be carried out at night.

Screening reports concluded the scheme is unlikely to have significant effects on the environment or on any Natura 2000 site.

"The introduction of a signalised teardrop roundabout arrangement will improve the efficiency of traffic movements through the junction, increase its capacity and reduce queue lengths on the westbound exit ramp. By reducing the likelihood of traffic backing up onto the N40 mainline, the scheme will enhance road safety for motorists," the consultation document states.