TRAFFIC WOES: WORK SET TO START ON MALLOW ROUNDABOUT
COUNCIL PLEDGES TO PUT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN IN PLACE TO AVOID PEAK-TIME TRAFFIC CHAOS DURING WORKS
A SENIOR official with Cork County Council has pledged traffic disruption will be kept to a minimum during planned works at the Annabella Roundabout in Mallow.
Work is set to finally start on a major realignment project at the roundabout in the spring - five years after the plan was originally sanctioned.
The roundabout, which is already a peak-time traffic blackspot, is to undergo a major overhaul in order to help it cope with the increased HGV traffic generated by Dairygold’s expanded West End operation.
In 2012 the then Mallow Town Council granted Dairygold permission for the West End expansion with conditions, one of them being that they pay a ‘special contribution’ of €514,863 for works at the roundabout.
Dairygold appealed the condition claiming that it was unfair to place the entire cost of the works on them, instead proposing a payment of 17.8% of the costs on the basis that their expansion would only result in a 17.8% increase in HGV’s using the roundabout.
An Bord Pleanala ruled in their favour, with the result being that Dairygold will be refunded a figure believed to be in the region of €550,000 by the local authority over a fixed payment schedule.
In effect this means that the cash strapped local authority will have to pick up the lion’s share of the total bill for the works, which it is estimated will cost in the region of €620,000 to complete.
Speaking to The Corkman Ger Patton, the project engineer with Cork County Council, said the scheme would involve moving the entire roundabout in the south/east direction towards cork City.
“At present there is only a single lane of traffic along the N20 in either direction leading into the roundabout. These works will create two lanes facilitating the flow of north and southbound traffic, while still allowing vehicles to exit into Mallow at the roundabout,” said Mr Patton.
He said the authority was in the process of finalizing contractual arrangements with the preferred bidder for the contract, Galway-based civil engineering company MEIC Ltd.
“At this stage it is too early to say exactly when the work will start or how long it will take. But, we hope to be on site sometime in March,” said Mr Patton.
While he admitted the works would cause some disruption, Mr Patton quickly moved to quell any fears that the roadworks would cause peak-time traffic chaos.
“This is a massive job and because it is at busy location, essentially the crossroads of Munster, the works will cause some traffic problems. However, the contractor will work closely with the council and Gardaí to ensure a traffic plan is put in place that will ensure these problems are kept to a minimum,” he promised.
“Quite simply, the Gardaí will not allow any works to commence until they are assured that a workable traffic management plan that will keep traffic disruption to a minimum is put in place,” he added.