New route plan for Tullamore to Kilbeggan road due by April

A report on the selection of the preferred route for a new N52 link road between Kilbeggan and Tullamore is due within the next months.

The consultants for the scheme, in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), were expected in Spring of 2022 to publish a report recommending a preferred route option, within an already-announced preferred route corridor

But this was delayed following a number of obstacles, including the failure of TII to provide a funding allocation for the project in 2022, and the introduction of a National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI) by the Government by which future investment in land transport is prioritised.

Although Offaly County Council is the lead authority on the project, it is being undertaken in conjunction with Westmeath County Council which this week informed members that the options selection report is currently being updated and finalised following a NIFTI review of the project.

It said it was intended to publish this report, which will identify the emerging preferred route for the road, in the first quarter of 2023.

However, it said further progress on the road plan is subject to a 2023 TII funding allocation.

Already a preferred route corridor has been published. It is circa 8.1km in length and maximises use of existing upgraded sections of the N52, including the Tullamore Bypass at the south and the approach to the M6 junction at the north.

Leaving from Tullamore, the route corridor follows the existing N52 until just north of the L2003 Ballynamona Road, where it diverges to the east. It crosses the L2005 and the L2006 High Road before merging back with the existing N52 again, north of the county boundary in the townland of Curraghglass.

Both Offaly and Westmeath County Councils deem the new link road to be a priority in order to improve both connectivity and safety on the route, with very high volumes of traffic using the N52, at some 14,000 vehicles per day.