€11.8m roadworks for mid-Kerry
TRANSPORT Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has approved the €10million Kilderry Bends Improvement Scheme, the largest of four schemes – worth almost €12million combined – scheduled for mid-Kerry in 2018.
The Kilderry Bends project provides for a new 3.5-kilometre section on the N70 between Milltown and Killorglin; and realignment of dangerous bends along a stretch of road that has previously been described by the National Roads Authority as one of Ireland’s most dangerous.
Work is expected to begin in 2018 and will take some 15 months to complete, and yesterday’s confirmation from TII has been described by Minister Brendan Griffin TD as “great news” for Kerry.
The news comes on the back of several recent developments announced for Mid-Kerry roads for 2018. In recent weeks, Kerry County Council (KCC) said that the €1.5million Dromavally-Mill Road scheme – located in the Killorglin area between the Astellas Plant and Killorglin Church – is proposed to get underway early next year.
The large scheme is expected to be completed in phases throughout the year, with no major works set for July and August to avoid traffic disruption during the tourist season.
Its proposals cover safety improvement works at four locations and full replacement of existing pavement. Its safety works entail the introduction of a mini-roundabout at the junction of Bridge Street, New Line Road, and Annadale Road; realignment to the Killorglin Bridge roundabout and the Mill Road-New Line Road junction; the introduction of widened footpaths and a crossing point between the roundabout and Killorglin Bridge; and the installation of a kerbed grass verge to the entrance to Dromavally Graveyard.
A further €260,000 has also been included in the Department of Transport’s Restoration Improvement Programme 2018 for two other projects in the Killorglin area.
€150,000 worth of works are expected to take place on the Caragh Lake-to-Killorglin road, involving draining, re-grading and surface dressing from Glanagilliagh Cross to the Rangue Junction. Similar works worth €110,000 will also take place on the old Glenbeigh-Killorglin Road from the Laharn N70 Junction to Rangue Junction.
It is hoped these two smaller schemes will begin in the second or third quarter of next year, depending on the progress of Kerry County Council’s work programme after it receives funding from the department.
The information was outlined in response to a query by Councillor Michael Cahill at a recent South and West Kerry Municipal District meeting.