March date mooted for work on River Crossing

WORK on the long-awaited River Shannon Crossing is expected to start next March after the Department of Transport approved the awarding of the construction contract to John Sisk and Sons at a tender sum of €43.7 million.

The contract for the Killaloe Bypass, Shannon Crossing and upgrading of the Ballina to Birdhill R494 regional road will be signed early in the Near Year, with a likely start date in March.

It is anticipated the scheme will take three years to be completed.

The estimated cost of the overall project totals €69 million, which includes construction, land acquisition, design, supervision, risk, contingency and archaeology. The Killaloe Bypass and Shannon River Crossing project has been mentioned in the public sphere for years, with the completion of the project expected to see a 40% reduction in congestion between the Tipperary and Clare border towns.

Former Environment Minister Alan Kelly recalled he put this project into the National Development Plan when he was minister in 2015 and it now thrilled the contract has been awarded for work to proceed.

“This will change the face of Ballina/Killaloe and indeed the whole access to the Lough Derg area. It has been a long time getting to this point, with many hurdles being jumped, but I am so happy this day has come. It will be so transformative for the local area, for social life, businesses and tourism.”

Deputy Cathal Crowe said he is thrilled this project is now advancing to the building phase.

“I served the Killaloe area as a councillor as far back as 2004 and I remember this being a constant headache for politicians and engineers, as we grappled with ways of moving traffic better around the towns of Killaloe and Ballina.

“There’s a constant bottleneck on the old bridge that links Killaloe and Ballina and even though a traffic light system has been installed in recent years, the problem has never gone away.

“The development of a bypass road, along with a new bridge crossing, will hugely alleviate traffic pressures that locals are all too familiar with and I’m very confident that better traffic management around the town will entice more visitors into Killaloe and the tourism sites on both sides of the water, in Clare and Tipperary.

“This is a project that I have championed in my 20 months as a TD for Clare but I think special credit is due to local councillor Tony O’Brien who has kept this constantly high on the political agenda. He and a litany of community activists and Clare County Council officials have never given up on the dream of having a bypass and new bridge crossing for Killaloe.”

The appointment of John Sisk and Sons has been described as “fantastic news” for East Clare by Councillor Tony O’Brien, who has lobbied for the provision of the new river crossing for years.

by Dan Danaher