Motorists travelling between Cork city and Killarney can look forward to further reductions in travel times following the opening on Friday by Transport Infrastructure Ireland of a further section of the €280 million N22 Macroom bypass.
The latest eight kilometre section extends from Carrigaphooca, west of Macroom, to Toonlane, just east of Ballymakeera, with the final six kilometres of dual carriageway, which will bypass Ballymakeera and Ballyvourney, scheduled to open later this year.
The new phase two section of the road means motorists can now avoid notorious bends at Lissacreasig between Macroom and Ballyvourney. Once the full 22km of bypass is completed, it is expected to reduce travel times between Cork city and Killarney by up to 17 minutes.
But the latest phase of the project has not been without controversy as it involves the removal of a temporary roundabout at Carrigaphooca, which allowed motorists to connect with local access routes to the Muscraí Gaeltacht villages of Cill na Martra and Ré na nDoirí.
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Local Cill na Martra businessman Lars Edman launched a petition earlier this summer calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to rethink the plan to remove the Carrigaphooca roundabout as it is the only way locals can access the new road.
“Drivers living between Macroom and Ballyvourney will have no access to the bypass once it is completed. The current access at Carrigaphooca will disappear. It means that cars and trucks from this area will have to pass through Macroom to go to Cork,” said Mr Edman.
Last Saturday, almost 100 vehicles participated in “a slow drive protest” from Carrigaphooca to Toonlane to highlight the lack of access for those living in local villages once the Carrigaphooca roundabout is removed and access slip roads are closed off.
Locals say the removal off the temporary roundabout – built at cost of €1.25 million – means those wishing to access the bypass will have to drive 11km west to Toonlane or 18km east to Gurteenroe.
Local Cork North West Fianna Fáil TD Aindrias Moynihan from Cill na Martra told the Adhmhaidin programme on Raidió na Gaeltachta that a planned access road was removed before the signing of the contract for the project in 2019.
“There was a plan there originally to allow people get on the bypass at Carrigaphooca – that’s what was understood for many years – it was when the contract was signed and the contractors set about the work that many people noticed that changes had been made in terms of the access road.”
According to TII, the Macroom Bypass, which has a capacity for 20,000 vehicles daily, is taking some 8,000 vehicles out of Macroom town daily and some 1,000 of these are HGV, with the villages of Ballymakeera and Ballyvourney due to enjoy similar benefits when they too are bypassed.
