Kilkenny appears to be losing its enthusiasm for the motorway it fought vigorously to secure last year. Plans for the new highway linking Dublin to Waterford have caused widespread protests in the county, with public meetings taking place almost nightly. Six optional routes were recently published by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
Politicians who campaigned to ensure the new road came through Kilkenny say there is no contradiction when they now support concerned residents who claim the highway will split communities and devastate the countryside.
Mr Jimmy Brett, a Fianna Fail councillor who played a central role in ensuring the road was routed through Kilkenny, said yesterday it had not been envisaged that "large swaths of countryside" would be taken out by an entirely new road.
He stressed that Kilkenny needed the investment it campaigned for last year, but an upgrade of the existing N9 was what had been sought. Kilkenny County Council, he said, had already spent £150,000 and £80,000 respectively designing bypasses for Thomastown and Lukeswell, but these were to be scrapped in favour of a new road on green-field sites.
He did not understand why these projects and the recently-opened bypass of Moone, Co Kildare, could not form part of the proposed highway, thereby minimising the impact on landowners and residents.
However, Mr Brian Cullinane, corporate affairs officer with the NRA, said it would not be possible to upgrade the existing road within the time-scale set by the Government. Building a new road was also a safer option, given the difficulties in upgrading while maintaining traffic flow.
If the road was designated as a motorway, it would be necessary to keep the existing network for certain types of road user, such as learner drivers, who are barred from using motorways, he added.
This cuts little ice, however, with protest groups throughout the county. In recent weeks groups have been established in Clara, Gowran, Wallslough, Mullinavat, Ballyhale, Knocktopher, Kilmacow and Danesfort. Residents claim the consultation process engaged in by the NRA is a charade and the road will be imposed whether they like it or not.
Mr Cullinane said the NRA had gone beyond its statutory obligations in holding public consultations at each stage of the route selection process. It was only required to do this when a final route had been selected and the environmental impact statement was being published.
He acknowledged that publishing several route options raised anxieties among people who would not ultimately be directly affected, but he said this was preferable to imposing a final, definitive route without consultation.
The new highway is to be built as part of the National Development Plan. It is to be completed by 2007 and a preferred route is expected to be known by the end of the year.
The project is due to reach the compulsory purchase stage by the end of next year, with construction due to begin in 2004.
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Readers who wish to contact Chris Dooley can leave messages by dialling 01-6707711, extension 6298; e-mail address: cdooley@irish-times.ie
