A feasibility report on the Northern Relief Road which was presented to a meeting of the Northern Committee of Cork Co. Council on Monday recommends that the construction of the road be carried out as a stand-alone project in order to alleviate traffic congestion from east to west in Mallow.
The Route Feasibility Report, carried out by Jacobs, says that the proposed N72-N73 Northern Relief Road stands on its own merits as a strategic congestion solution for Mallow.
The report states: “Mallow Town experiences traffic congestion on its local town centre network. This has been an issue for a number of years and poses a risk to future commercial and economic development within the town and across the wider region. Cork County Council has identified this issue for some time and the implementation of a relief road to the north of the town, to cater for N72-N73 east-west traffic, has long been an objective at county and local level. This objective is also consistent with the wider regional and national objectives for the area.”
The news was welcomed by Cllr John Paul O’Shea, who said that the bypass is badly needed to reduce traffic congestion in the town centre, and also to safeguard future economic development in the area.
After a full discussion of the matter, it was agreed to write to Transport Infra-structure Ireland, to recommend that the Northern Relief Road project move to the next stage.