14 Nov 2005
Kilkenny and Carlow County Councils welcome decision by An Bord Pleamila to grant permission for southern section of new N9 / NIO High Quality Dual Carriageway

The decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant permission to the 64km southern section (Powerstown to Waterford) of the new N9 / NlO High Quality Dual Carriageway from Kilcullen to Waterford has today (Monday, 14thNovember) been welcomed by Kilkenny County Council and Carlow County Council. It is expected that work on the construction of the new high quality dual carriageway will be completed by 2010.

Joe Gannon, Kilkenny County Council Project Co-ordinator, said that following on
from the decision by An Bord Pleamila the next phase of the project will involve
archaeological testing, resolution and the issue of tenders for the construction of the new inter-urban route.

"The decision by An Bord Pleamlla to grant permission is a very welcome
development and people in the South-East can be reassured that they will have a
superior road infrastructure that will help to support employment in the Region by
providing safer and faster access to national and international markets. Traffic
congestion will be eased and road safety improved in towns and villages along the
existing N9 and N10. In particular, Thomastown, Gowran, Paulstown, Stoneyford,
Knocktopher, Ballyhale, and Mullinavat will see a dramatic decrease in non-local
through traffic when the road is completed."

The 64km route will have six new grade separated junctions and a total 87 bridges.In February 2005, the County Councils jointly published an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project, which identifies a number of measures to minimise disruption during the construction stage and mitigate any adverse effects of the scheme on the environment. The decision by An Bord Pleamila to approve the road proposal follows an Oral Hearing of approx 8 days in June 2005, which considered the EIS and CPO and issues and observations raised by third parties.

The new inter-urban route is one of the major interurban routes identified for
improvement in the National Development Plan and also features in the Transport 21 investment plan recently published by the Department of Transport. The new route will be built to a high-quality dual carriageway standard and it will carry much of the long distance traffic and heavy goods vehicles using the existing Dublin- Waterford route. This will substantially reduce congestion, noise and traffic pollution and will improve road safety, travel times and air quality.

Mr Gannon concluded by saying that the two focal authorities would now begin a
process to address key issues and conditions arising from the An Bord Pleanala
decision.

An Bord Pleamlla has already approved proposals for the northern section (Kilcullen to Powerstown) of the N9 / NlO Kilcullen to Waterford scheme. It is an objective of the National Roads Authority (NRA) to complete the route in its entirety by 2010.
Funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000- 2006
and part-funded by the European Union.

"Your Plan - Your Future"

For further media information, contact:
Joe Gannon, Kilkenny County Council Project Co-ordination Office (Roads) at
056 77 94300

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For more information contact:

Senior Engineer, Kildare National Roads Design Office,
Maudlins, Naas, Co. Kildare. Tel: 045 898199 Fax: 045 875845 Email: n9n10@kildarenrdo.com

or: N9/N10 Project Coordinator, Kilkenny County Council,
Roads Office, 1 Dean Street, Kilkenny. Tel: 056 91300 Fax: 056 91313
Email: nro@kilkennycoco.ie