Wicklow bypasses to open ahead of schedule

Bypasses of the villages of Rathnew and Ashford in Co Wicklow will open to traffic this summer almost 1½ years ahead of schedule. The 14km dual carriageway section of the N11 which is being built by as a joint venture between S.M. Morris Ltd, and Sisk was not initially expected to open until the last quarter of 2005.

However, progress on the road has been rapid, and Wicklow County Council confirmed yesterday that, while the road scheme will not be fully completed until later this year, the high-specification dual carriageway will be sufficiently advanced by July to divert traffic from local villages.

The council said the partial opening of the scheme would facilitate the large volume of traffic which created tailbacks at Rathnew and Ashford during the summer.

However, according to a council spokeswoman, Ms Christine Flood, the route will retain a 40 m.p.h. speed limit until the scheme is completed. While this speed is restrictive, Ms Flood pointed out, it was significantly faster than passage through the roundabouts and traffic lights in the adjacent villages.

Travelling south, the new route begins at the end of the existing Newtownmountkennedy bypass, passing Coynes Cross and running east of the Cullenmore bends and former Cullenmore Hotel, to the north of Inchanappa where there is an exit for Ashford.

The route runs west of Inchinappa Hill, crosses the Vartry river and the existing N11 at Rossanna on the Dublin side of Rathnew. It will then travel southwards, passing to the west of Rathnew village before rejoining the N11 at Ballinabarney.

The partial opening will also facilitate commuters along the N11 whose numbers have risen significantly in recent years following large-scale housing development at Arklow and Gorey in Wexford. When complete, the scheme will contribute to an uninterrupted 30-mile stretch of dual carriageway from Donnybrook in Dublin to Ballinabarney south of Rathnew.

The council is hoping to get approval from Bord Pleanála for the next section of the N11, from Rathnew to the Arklow bypass, a length of about 10 miles, later this year.

When this is complete there will be an uninterrupted dual carriageway right through the county, extending from the Wexford border to Dublin city centre.

When the contract was signed in February 2002 for € 94 million it was the largest ever awarded by Wicklow County Council. The current estimated total cost of construction, land, planning and design is € 182 million.

According to the council, the carriageway should considerably improve road safety on the N11, eliminating congestion and shortening journey times between the south-east and the capital.