New N5 route to be reviewed

New N5 route to be reviewed as Westport area roadworks 2012 plan unveiled


Neill O’Neill
neilloneill@mayonews.ie

THE route for the proposed new N5 will have to be reviewed it was revealed last week, given the recent purchase by Allergan of the IDA park which the original plan routed through. Mayo County Engineer, Joe Beirne, told a meeting of the local area committee that the route will be reviewed before it goes to CPO, but couldn’t speculate on what alteration would be needed or what or whom might be affected by this.
“The road went though the IDA park in agreement with what the IDA had envisaged for it, but it will have to be reviewed going through here and down by the GAA pitch, given that Allergan have brought the whole industrial park,” he said. There is €200,000 available to keep the project alive this year he added, saying this is good news as he felt previously that the new N5 proposal was ‘dead’.
However, it is understood that it will be many years before any physical work on the project will actually commence, and that its survival is completely contingent on funding being made available from national capital roadworks funds, at a time when the NRA is reducing its expenditure.
A further €800,000 is earmarked for the CPO process on the N59 Westport to Mulranny road in 2012, though the council ‘will not get near buying land his year’, according to Mr Beirne. He said An Bord PleΡnala should be hosting a public meeting on the project in May or June - a result of which should be with the council by the Autumn. The on-going works in Kilbride outside Newport should also be substantially completed by Autumn, and Mr Beirne added that a directive has been issued to the contractors to facilitate users of The Greenway during the earth moving and construction phases. He added that the disruption to the Greenway may be bad at times but that is was necessary.
Planned minor roadworks, upgrades and improvements right across the greater Westport electoral area were also outlined at the meeting, and include work on bridges, pavements, surfaces, road strengthening, hedge-cutting and special improvements in Westport, Louisburgh, Newport and beyond. In total the budget for these amounts to almost €3.1 million, on top of the €4.5 million for the major works underway on the N59 in Kilbride.

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