2 Scheme Background
The NRA published
the 'National Roads Needs Study' in July 1998. This Study
presented the current level of service provided by the National
Primary and National Secondary road system and forms a basis
on which policy decisions for the development of the road
network for the period 2000 - 2019 can be made.
The Policy Objectives
outlined in the Roads Needs Study were carried forward from
the Operational Programme for Transport (OPT), 1994 - 1999.
The purpose of
the OPT was to provide essential infrastructural support for
the economic objectives of the European Union (EU) Community
Support Framework and to assist the fundamental aim of achieving
further substantial progress towards the national and EU goal
of economic and social cohesion.
The OPT identified
deficiencies in Ireland's internal and access transport, which
were considerations in forecasting National Road Needs for
the period 2000 - 2019.
One of the major
objectives of the Roads Needs Study was to examine the National
Road Network and to "determine the appropriate type of roadway
for each segment of the network to cater for projected traffic
flows over the twenty year period from 2000 to 2019."
The study concluded
that the National Primary Road System, including the N9 Route
should be upgraded to provide a minimum 'level of service
D' (LOS-D) equivalent to an inter-urban travel speed of 80kmph.
The National
Road Strategy was reviewed again by the Government when preparing
the National Development Plan. While the LOS-D objective was
retained as policy for the road network generally, a higher
Level of Service C (LOS-C) was proposed for adoption for five
major inter-urban routes radiating from Dublin, including
the Waterford to Dublin Route. LOS-C is equivalent to an average
inter-urban speed of 84kmph on a single carriageway road,
94kmph on a dual carriageway and 105kmph on a motorway.
In addition,
the following transport objectives are identified as part
of the National Development Plan:
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To improve
the reliability of the road transport system by removing
bottlenecks, remedying capacity deficiencies and reducing
absolute journey times and journey variance.
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To improve
internal road transport infrastructure between regions
and within regions, contribute to the competitiveness
of the productive sector and foster regional development.
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To facilitate
better access to and from the main ports and airports
with the main objective of offsetting the negative effects
of peripherality.
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To contribute
to sustainable transport policies, facilitating continued
economic growth and regional development while ensuring
a high level of environmental protection.
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To help achieve
the objectives of the Government's Road Safety Strategy
in relation to the reduction in fatalities and serious
injuries caused by road accidents.
The emphasis
of the National Development Plan has changed from focusing
on the provision of by-passes of towns on the National Roads
Network, to the provision of high capacity inter-urban road
links.
As there are
a number of routes available for travel between Waterford
and Dublin, the NDP did not specify the particular route to
be improved to LOS-C. Both the route and the type of road
were referred for further evaluation.
The NRA subsequently
published an 'Assessment of Waterford-Dublin Route and Road
Type Options' paper in February 2000. This assessment looked
at three corridor options for the route, broadly along the
existing N9, an East Coast Route (via Arklow, Enniscorthy
and New Ross) and the 'Durrow Route' (departing the N8 at
Durrow, continuing southwards to Waterford via Kilkenny).
The 'Central N9 Corridor' was recommended as the preferred
route for the inter-urban road link and forms the basis for
this study. As indicated in Section 1.1, a high quality dual
carriageway / motorway standard road was also recommended
as part of the NRA assessment for the route.
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