Major road arteries forecast to clog up unless new infrastructure is put in place
By Brendan Grehan
SOME OF the major arteries in West Dublin, including the M50, the N4 and the N7, will become even busier with traffic by 2023 unless new infrastructure is put in place, according to a report from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
One proposal from the report is build a “Western Dublin orbital route” which would provide a link between the N4 and N7 at the Rathcoole interchange or a new interchange on the N7.
The report, which looked at the N4/N7 corridor area forecasts increased congestion and worsening delays at junctions on both local and national roads.
The report stated “The National Road network will experience substantial increases in travel time and delay by 2023 with the M50 being worst affected while the N4 and N7 are also affected, albeit to a lesser (although still significant) extent.”
The report was published last week and was also presented to South Dublin County Council’s transportation committee who were told by TII that a series of local junction upgrades and road schemes would need to be carried out for further traffic congestion to be avoided.
It is not clear where the funding for the road would come from as TII stated that they did not see themselves funding or delivering the road.
Councillor William Lavelle, Chairman of the Transportation Committee has called for the road to be included in a Government infrastructure programme.
He said: “I fully support the need for this new road, which would reduce traffic volumes on the M50 and on the west Dublin local road network, particularly in Lucan.
“However, consideration would need to be given to where any new bridge crosses the scenic and environmentally sensitive River Liffey valley.
“This new road forms part of TII’s preferred strategy, but at Thursday’s SDCC Transport SPC meeting, TII stated that they did not see themselves funding or delivering this road.”
Cllr Lavelle said that TII should be delivering the road as a national project “particularly also as delivery of this road would impact at least three counties and cannot be delivered by any one council”.
He added: “With a review of the Government’s Capital Programme underway I would be calling on the Government to include this road on the next Capital Programme and to direct TII to take a lead in the design and planning of the new road. This road is vital for the sustainability and future growth of the West Dublin area.”
