Council awaits approval for €40m Killaloe bridge crossing

THE long-awaited new €40 million bridge crossing linking the twin communities of Ballina and Killaloe, Killaloe bypass and associated link roads may be hit by the economic downturn, it emerged this week.

A comprehensive Environment Impact Statement (EIS) has been completed in draft form by Roughan and O’Donovan consulting engineers, who were commissioned by Clare County Council and North Tipperary County Council to produce a Route Selection Report to construct a western bypass around the town of Killaloe.
A preliminary design for the entire project, which includes the new river crossing, Killaloe bypass and a new road linking Ballina and Birdhill in North Tipperary is being finalised and will be submitted to the Department of the Environment for its approval.
Senior executive roads engineer, Tom Tiernan, revealed that Clare County Council who are the lead authority in this project with North Tipperary County Council, will need to get the green light from the department before it can proceed to the compulsory order of the necessary land.
Although a detailed assessment has been made of the land that needs to be purchased to facilitate this project, the total estimated cost of this phase isn’t fully finalised at this stage.
Once the department gives the project its backing, An Bord Planeála will take over the management of the project and the remainder of the phases.
Mr Tiernan said that the whole project could be completed within a three-year period if funding became available in the near future. However, he conceded that it was unlikely that this level of funding is available and noted there are a number of similar projects throughout the country awaiting approval.
It is being developed under the schemes for strategic non-national routes and the department did allocate €500,000 to the project, which Mr Tiernan noted was a positive indication that it regarded the new developments as important pieces of infrastructure for the region.
Clare county councillors supported a proposed amendment to the 2005 East Clare Local Area Plan to facilitate the Killaloe Western Bypass at a council meeting last July.
The proposed route will connect the Ennis to Scariff R463 to the north of the town with the Shannon Bridge Crossing section at the south of the town. This report, which was noted at the March Clare County Council meeting, concluded with an emerged preferred route.
Senior executive planner, Brian McCarthy told councillors at a subsequent meeting in the Scariff Area Offices that this process was necessary in order to give planning and land use statutory effect to the proposed route and to inform and facilitate the decision-making process for approval of the route itself and of planning applications in the vicinity.
He stated it was considered necessary for the route corridor to be identified and designated in the 2005 East Clare Local Area Plan.
The line of the Killaloe Bridge Crossing and an indicative line of a bypass was included in 2006 as amendment number one to the 2005 Local Area Plan.
The European Communities Environmental Assessment Certain Plan and Programmes Regulations 2004 and Habitats Directive Appropriate Assessment requires that a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) is undertaken in parallel with, and to inform, the process and decision making.
Concern about the impact of the new Killaloe Western Bypass on landowners has been expressed by local councillors.
Councillor Cathal Crowe and Council Michael Begley have asked about the impact of the bypass on a nearby residential dwelling and if all options had been considered.
Mr McCarthy explained that a preferred route for the river crossing was already selected from a shortlist of six options and a proposed route for the bypass was included in 2006 before this definitive line was selected.