Dunkettle Interchange upgrade a 'big boost' for Fermoy, Mitchelstown and local villages - County Mayor
The opening of the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme, which took place on Monday, will see journey times for locals significantly reduced. One of the country’s busiest interchanges, saw the completed €215m upgrade officially opened by Tánaiste, Micheal Martin.
Speaking with The Avondhu ahead of the opening, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O’Flynn, said the opening of the Dunkettle Interchange upgrade is ‘as big an event for Fermoy, Mitchelstown and surrounds as anywhere’.
“This is a great occasion because many people know that for many years, there has been a bottleneck. It's a big boost for people around Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Killavullen, Castletownroche and all the local villages. Many people are working in Cork and often people go to Cork to the hospital for appointments, college or go shopping, even going to matches.
“The quality of the work is absolutely brilliant and I'm hearing nothing but praise for the work carried out there and how quickly it was carried out. It's a great boost for the environment, it will make journeys much shorter and it will also improve the quality of life. I know many students that are staying in Cork and paying high exorbitant rents and now they have the opportunity to drive up and down,” Mayor O’Flynn said.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said that the upgrade is already delivering a 50% reduction in journey times during peak hours and noted that the upgrade was delivered on time and to budget, despite challenges faced during the global pandemic, Brexit and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
At the official opening on Monday, it was noted that the project included 18 new road links with a total length of 10km, 150,000m2 of new pavement area, 25,000m2 of structural concrete, 22,500m of drainage and 1,400m of culverts.
According to Mayor O’Flynn, the main benefit will be to significantly reduce commute times and to provide journey time certainty through the junction.
“The completion of this project is a significant milestone in the development of the southern region. Cork County Council will be working closely with our colleagues in Cork City Council to build on the work done at Dunkettle in terms of active travel infrastructure and deliver further enhancements both east and west of the interchange.
“I would like to thank TII and Cork City Council for their collaboration. This upgrade demonstrates clearly what can be achieved when we collaborate and deliver a beneficial outcome for all road users in the city and county. I have no doubt the benefits will be felt for many years to come by domestic, tourist and commercial users,” Mayor O’Flynn said.