Funding for relief road around Cork town  welcome, but progress is needed

While a funding allocation for the development of the long-awaited Mallow relief road has been welcomed, locals say interim measures are needed to tackle current chronic congestion in the North Cork town.

Some €600,000 has been allocated to the project under a €234m funding package for Cork’s national, regional, and local roads announced this week by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

John McDonnell of the Mallow Development Partnership told The Echo he believes the money will be used to take the project to the planning stage.

“The road is going to take five years to build, we’ve been told. A lot more than the €600,000 will be needed, but this should take us to the next stage so it’s welcome, because we’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said.

Interim measures needed 

In a statement on behalf of the Mallow Relief Road Alliance, Mr McDonnell and Mallow Chamber president Joyce A Good Hammond said interim measures are needed to address congestion in the town.

“We welcome the allocation of €600k that progresses the Mallow relief road and represents a significant and positive step forward for this vital project,” they said.

“Traffic congestion in Mallow town is rapidly increasing, affecting business, community, and shoppers alike.”

They said in addition to taking traffic out of the town, the relief road will improve air quality, support businesses and unlock Mallow’s potential as an important and growing tourism destination through better connecting the train station and providing smoother access attractions including Mallow Castle and Doneraile Park.

“However, as mentioned previously, traffic congestion is expected to increase significantly over the next five years, requiring interim measures. These could include redirecting heavy traffic away from the town and bringing forward some active travel proposals.”

Clarity needed 

Cork North Central Labour TD Eoghan Kenny said that while funding was welcome, clarity was needed regarding long-term plans for the project. “We need to see shovels in the ground as quickly as possible,” he said.

“There has been a piecemeal approach to the Mallow relief road now for many, many years. The project is absolutely necessary for the economic development of our town, and will contribute to industry and housing.

“If we want to see housing development, infrastructure must match that. But it’s also so important for particularly our main street, which needs to be absolutely brought back to the best of its ability. That will only be done if we can take cars and HGVs off of the street. And that will be done by getting the relief road built.”