Monday, June 21, 2010

Northern Distributor Road Funding Welcomed By Clare County Council

Clare County Council has welcomed the commitment of €33 million towards the construction of the first phase of the Limerick Northern Distributor Road from Coonagh to Knockalisheen.

The funding announcement was made by Minister for Housing and Local Services Michael Finneran, T.D. as part of the recently launched Phase one Implementation Plan for Limerick regeneration. In the region of €337million is being provided to support 26 key projects in the regeneration areas over the four and half year period of the Implementation Plan.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Tony Mulcahy said the Government’s announcement provided a significant boost to the Northern Distributor Road project, which will eventually bypass Limerick City Centre by linking the Coonagh roundabout at Caherdavin to the Dublin Road in Annacotty.

“Once completed, this project will link Coonagh with Parteen and Ardnacrusha before crossing the River Shannon to UL and the Dublin Road. This vital piece of infrastructure will greatly ease traffic congestion in and around Limerick City and will be of great benefit to the people of South East Clare, as well as Limerick City and its environs”, he added.

Tom Coughlan, Clare County Manager and a Director of the Limerick Regeneration Agency said the Government’s commitment of €33million to the first phase of the project represented a significant step towards the commencement of work on the remainder of the road project.

“The preliminary design for the first phase of this major project has recently been completed and the project will shortly proceed to CPO stage. The first phase of the Northern Distributor Road will be delivered by Limerick City Council, as the contracting authority”, he stated.

Mr. Coughlan confirmed that Clare County Council has recently been allocated €400,000 by the Department of Transport to proceed to the planning and design stage of the remainder of the Northern Distributor Road project. He added that the Council was presently in the process of procuring consultants.