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 formed the basis on which policy decisions for the development
of the road network for the period 2000 - 2019 were to be
made.
The Policy Objectives outlined in the Roads Needs Study were
carried forward from the Operational Programme for Transport
(OPT) 1994 - 19993
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 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 (2000 - 2016).
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 Plan2
-
To improve the reliability of the road transport system
by removing bottlenecks, remedying capacity deficiencies
and reducing absolute journey times and journey variance.
- To
improve internal road transport infrastructure between regions
and within regions, contribute to the competitiveness of
the productive sector and foster regional development.
- To
facilitate better access to and from the main ports and
airports with the main objective of offsetting the negative
effects of peripherality.
- To
contribute to sustainable transport policies, facilitating
continued economic growth and regional development while
ensuring a high level of environmental protection.
- 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 dual carriageway
/ motorway standard road was also recommended as part of the
NRA assessment for the route.
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