Progress on ‘vital’ Northern Distributor Road for Cork city

PROGRESS on a “vital” road in Cork city that will be “of huge benefit” has been welcomed by local representatives.

Cork City Council’s head of infrastructure Gerry O’Beirne has confirmed that the Strategic Appraisal Report for the Cork Northern Distributor Multi-Modal Route was prepared and submitted for approval last year and subsequently updated and approved in December.

The approval enabled the design team to progress with the concept development and options selection phase of the design process which is now underway.

It is anticipated that council will be undertaking non-statutory public consultation on the preferred scheme routing in the coming months.

Mr O’Beirne said this will be followed by the preliminary design and planning approval phases for the scheme.

The update was issued following a question submitted by Labour Party councillor John Maher at January’s meeting of Cork City Council.

Speaking to The Echo following the meeting, Mr Maher welcomed the confirmation that the Northern Distributor Road will be progressed in Q1 of this year and described it as “vital” for Cork city and the communities of the northside.

“We are seeing over 1,000 homes being built in Ballyvolane which is very welcome but it is essential we get balanced development to complement these houses and the Northern Distributor Road will benefit those communities and the city massively,” he said.

“Over 1,000 HGVs drive through our communities each day on a road, the Northern Ring Road, which was originally designed as a relief road for the National Building Agency houses in Mayfield. Forty years on from initial talks of a new Northern Ring Road, people now must see this delivered, once and for all.”

Fine Gael councillor Joe Kavanagh said that a distributor road would be “of huge benefit” to the northside.

“It’s something we’ve been promised for many years now so the sooner it comes, the better for everyone concerned,” the Cork City North East councillor said. 

“The problem at the moment is that all the heavy traffic heading west, in particular, is being funnelled up through Mayfield from the Port of Cork. We have a convoy of HGVs heading up the Northern Ring Road every single day and it’s blocking up the whole area.

“Apart from air quality [issues], you’ve got a public safety issue with people trying to cross the road safely, motorists trying to drive their kids to school and go about their daily business; and you have all this heavy traffic and extra traffic being funnelled through one little area.”

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould raised concerns about the two-year wait to get the scheme through the design stage and said such delays cannot happen throughout the construction of the road.

“We will engage meaningfully with public participation now because that is a really important part of this process. This road must be built along the best possible route and the only way to ensure that is by using the wealth of local knowledge in communities,” Mr Gould said.

Describing the road as “vital” for improving sustainable transport measures, he said: “BusConnects relies on the Northern Distributor Road and I don’t believe the plans are feasible without it. It must be delivered urgently.”