New Eden-Enfield Road welcomed

Funding of €26m that should see the new Edenderry to Enfield Road completed in 2014 has been broadly welcomed in Offaly this week. Edenderry councillor Noel Bourke said he looks forward to construction work now getting underway after years of work identifying the route, getting through the planning process and acquiring the required land for the new road. Fellow Fianna Fáil member Barry Cowen said he was "delighted" Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar adhered to a commitment to the project given by the previous government, while Fine Gael's Liam Quinn looked forward to quality access to the M6 in the future. Also welcoming the news was Fine Gael's Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, who paid tribute to local councillors who have worked relentlessly over the years to ensure the upgrade came to pass. Complimenting members of both Offaly and Kildare County Councils who have worked hard on the project to progress it to this stage, Deputy Cowen said he believes the M6 connecting route will open "an important corridor for the midlands which I believe can have significant economic benefits into the future". Cllr Quinn looked forward to the project replacing the current "sub-standard" R402 with the new 12km stretch of carriageway. The current road sees approximately 4,850 vehicles pass over it per day, of which five percent are heavy goods vehicles. "The existing road is very substandard and has a poor safety record, with six fatalities, 13 serious accidents, 31 minor accidents and 61 material damage accidents in the period 1990 to September 2010," he said. He said the current sight distance at many of the existing properties with access to the current road are seriously substandard and that high levels of the council's roads local area offices are needed to maintain the current road surface. He said the lack of a proper drainage system has increased both the difficulty and cost of maintaining the current road to a proper standard. He looked forward to the completion of a new roadway, noting too that it will lead to a better quality of life and greater safety for residents of Carbury and Thomastown, which will be by-passed by the new road. Edenderry councillor Nichola Hogan described the announcement as "wonderful news" for the Edenderry area, and said the upgrade will be widely welcomed by the huge volume of motorists who have no options but to use the current road for their daily commute to work. The total cost of the project is expected to be €36m. Ten million of this has already been spent, with the remainder going on future land acquisition, design and construction.