Funding for Ardfinnan Bridge allocated

Government funding has been granted to prepare an options assessment for Ardfinnan Bridge where a controversial temporary traffic light system has been in place for seven years.
A total of €220,000 has been allocated to the Ardfinnan Bridge project under the Active Travel Investment grants provided by the Government.
€6,600,000 was allocated to county Tipperary under the active travel allocation.
The Ardfinnan funding will kick start the preparation of a plan to deal with the controversial traffic management measures that were introduced at the bridge seven years ago.
A one-way traffic management system with temporary traffic lights was introduced after the bridge was damaged by flooding.
Funding was expected to enable plans for a new pedestrian bridge to be designed which would lead to the return of a two way traffic system without lights.
The Ardfinnan Bridge allocation allowed for €70,000 to be spent on anoptions assessment report and €150,000 to be spent on permanent traffic lights to replace the temporary ones.
This week, Tipperary TD Martin Browne questioned why €150,000 of that funding was allocated for permanent traffic lights to replace the temporary ones that have been in place.
Senator Garret Ahearn said there was a clear understanding that a pedestrian bridge would be provided and that a two-way traffic system would return.
“That process is going to take a number of years. The €70,000 for the options assessment will start all of that off but it will take time. In the meantime the temporary lights will be replaced by permanent lights that will operate for whatever period of years it will take for the two way traffic system over the bridge to be restored,” he said.
Senator Ahearn said the community clearly want the two-way system restored and that is what everybody was working towards.
“The funding for Ardfinnan is to be welcomed as is the funding under this programme to Fethard Town Park,(€150,000), and footpath work in Clonmel, (€280,000),” he added.
Deputy Browne called for clarity regarding the allocation.
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“I welcome investment in Ardfinnan Bridge. But we need clarity about the allocation of the significant sum of €150,000 to make key features of the current arrangement permanent,” he said.
“And we need certainty that the people’s option will be delivered, and that if works costing €150,000 need to be reversed at some stage in the future in favour of the option that the public have been calling for, that such action will be taken,” he said.

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