Second Cork to Cobh road ‘taking too long’, says TD

Work on a second road to Cork from Cobh is taking too long, a Cork TD has said, as the transport minister has detailed the five-year back-and-forth with Cork county council on the project.

Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide asked the minister for transport to provide an update on the Great Island connectivity scheme, in particular in respect of a new bridge crossing to Cobh.

Transport minister Darragh O’Brien said: “Cork County Council submitted an initial project appraisal to the department in 2019 regarding the upgrade of the R624 Cobh Road.

“The project, as submitted, includes upgrading the existing N25-R624 interchange, the provision of a dual carriageway from the interchange to Marino Point, widening of Slatty Bridge, the provision of a new bridge crossing to Great Island at Belvelly and upgrading the existing R624 from Marino Point to Cobh.

“The estimated cost of this scheme is more than €100m, with possible staged implementation.

“In line with government requirements, Cork County Council also produced a strategic assessment report (SAR) for the Great Island connectivity scheme and a draft was forwarded to the department in November 2022.” 

Mr O’Brien explained that since then, both the public spending code and the department’s transport appraisal framework (TAF) guidance have been updated, so the department liaised with the council regarding new requirements including the preparation of a project outline document (POD) and business case incorporating the work already undertaken.

The council submitted the POD to the department in March 2024, and then commenced work on developing a brief for the appointment of consultants to deliver the scheme through options assessment, design and planning, starting with the commencement of a preliminary business case.

“An allocation of €350,000 was made to Cork County Council as part of the 2025 regional and local roads grants to assist in the development of the preliminary business case.”

Mr Quaide said the timeline for the project was too long, telling The Echo: “Some Government TDs are openly admitting that the Government is taking far too long to progress essential infrastructure projects.

“The second road access to Cobh is one such project that needs a serious injection of ambition and urgency from Government. It is essential for safety, connectivity and for realising Cobh’s full development potential.”