N5 concerns over town plan

Castlebar town plan concerns may hold up N5

Anton McNulty

THE NRA may hold up the entire N5 Westport to Bohola road if they are not happy with the issue of rezoned land in the new Castlebar town plan, councillors from the Castlebar Electoral Area were warned.
Mr Joe Beirne, County Engineer, told the councillors that the NRA were concerned with some issues regarding rezoning of land and this could lead to difficulties with the route selection of the new Castlebar by-pass. He added that the NRA might not let the entire 40km project go ahead at all if they have concerns over part of the route.
“I see difficulty with the Castlebar by-pass in relation to the planning approved by the Councillors. There won’t be any difficulty with the Westport to Castlebar side or the Castlebar to Bohola side but the show-stopper would be if the NRA have concerns over the zoning of land in Castlebar and where the road goes. There may be perceived difficulties to overcome if they say ‘all the road or none of the road’. The difficulty with Castlebar is that the NRA will not pay for a relief road, they want a by-pass with the minimum amount of inter-connections with the town,” he said.
Mr Beirne was speaking after a presentation on the progress of the N5 Westport to Bohola road was given to councillors by Mr Tony McNulty, Senior Engineer with the Roads Design Office. He said that the new road will be a two-plus-two dual carriageway and he hoped that the route selection and the CPO process would be completed in 2010. However, he warned that the project would have to join a ‘queue’ with other projects in the county before funding would be handed down.
Cllr Paddy McGuinness said that this was the first time he heard about NRA concerns regarding the town plan and called for clarity on the issue. He added that this was a serious issue that needed resolution as soon as possible because he did not want Castlebar blamed for holding up the whole project.