The upgrade of the N24 is now back on the agenda - Cllr Moloney

The matter of an N24 upgrade has been an issue with many towns along the route for a number of years now and the lack of decent infrastructure has hindered trade in these towns and in some cases there has been a loss of industrial settlements to the major cities as a result.

Cllr Andy Moloney along with Municipal Chairs, County Chair and officials had a meeting with TII (NRA) in Dublin last week to discuss the issues that effected their perspective areas and push for improvements while waiting on a submission to be compiled.

Mayor of the District Cllr Andy Moloney highlighted the Ballydrehid bends, Clonmel By-Pass and the Knockagh Roundabout as problem areas. While the latter 2 are to be addressed there still remains the big issue of a new motorway to replace the current N24. This received a substantial boost with a submission to government to build the new carriageway at a cost of one billion. The first phase would be Limerick to Cahir at a cost of €540 million. This would be cheaper than replacing the N20 from Cork to Limerick with a proposed cost of €800m and the second phase from Cahir to Waterford at a cost of €480 million. This would replace the need for an upgrade of the M25 from Cork to Waterford at a cost of approx €930m.

The Cahir junction often referred to as ’the crossroads of Munster’ would then become the crossroads of Southern Ireland at a price of €500m less than replacing both the N20 and M25. This submission has been lodged as a joint plan with Waterford and Kilkenny and will be presented to the mid-term review of capital investment 2016-2021.

Moloney says that while the meeting in Dublin with the TII gained us some minor commitments, an N24 upgrade like this would be the icing on the cake. It would reduce the urgency for direct motorways between Cork and Limerick and Waterford and Cork, save significant amounts of public monies, create key connectivity across the southern regions and cities, cut journey times, create a safer network and maximise capacity in existing public infrastructure.

The Clonmel and Cahir areas would also be far more attractive to encourage business and Tourism to their areas and Moloney is encouraging those in the position of authority to make this happen.