Urgent need for relief road in North Cork town to tackle congestion and improve safety

Funding must be provided for the Mallow relief road as soon as possible, in order to tackle ongoing congestion and improve safety in the town, local representatives have said.

The road was not included in the recent allocation of €20.2m to Cork County Council as part of the Government’s €360m for active travel and greenways in 2026.

As a result, the Mallow Relief Road Alliance group have said they “note with concern” there is no specific reference to Mallow or the North Cork area in the funding.

Congestion

They added this was despite the fact it is “presumed” that comprehensive active travel facilities will be integrated into the planned relief road.

“We can only guess at the congestion level in the town by 2031 if no interim action is taken and we believe, therefore, that every effort should be made to identify specific elements of the active travel route that could be designed and delivered in a shorter timeframe, ideally within the next two to three years,” said a spokesperson.

“This approach would have the unqualified support of all community, sporting, and voluntary groups in the town and wider area.”

To advance this objective, a meeting of the Mallow Relief Road Alliance is to be held shortly to discuss a number of possible options for formal submissions to Cork County Council in this regard.

John McDonnell, a member of the Mallow Development Partnership management committee, told The Echo: “It’s crucial that when funds are announced for roads, which should be in the first quarter of that year, that funding is included to take the Mallow relief road through planning to construction.”

Funding needed

The road has been in discussion for 30 years now, he said.

“In the last year, ministers have agreed that this road is needed, but we need funding to take it to the next stage. It’s anticipated that it will take five years to build, but we’d be looking for that to be brought forward.

“The current situation in Mallow is constant congestion, and if the whole town is blocked up now we’re worried about what way it will be in five years,” Mr McDonnell said. “There will be environmental benefits, as we saw in Macroom, the air quality improved significantly, and to safety, as a lot of older people in Mallow walk in the town — shopping and going to mass, on a daily basis.”

Labour TD Eoghan Kenny, who is based in the region, said while the overall active travel funding was welcome, he was “extremely disappointed that once again there is no reference whatsoever to a greenway project in Mallow, nor any active travel infrastructure linked to the Mallow relief road”.

“Mallow is the largest town in North Cork and a key regional transport hub, yet it continues to be ignored and sidelined when major infrastructure decisions are made,” he said.