Home > Public Consultations > Public Consultation No 3 > Detailed Report

Introduction
On completion of the Public Consultation No.2 in May of this year, a process of route selection was undertaken on the route corridor options presented at that consultation, to establish a Preferred Route for the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford Road Scheme. The route selection process involved an assessment of environmental, engineering, economic and traffic implications of each option presented at the Public Consultation No 2 and a review of the information and comments received from the public.

The purpose of Public Consultation No. 3 is to
• present the Preferred Route to the public
• provide information on the route selection process
• gather further information.

You are invited to consider the Preferred Route and provide your comments on the sheet provided.

The Present Preferred Route

In the route selection process new connections were developed between the corridors and modifications were made
to existing corridor options, as more detailed environmental and engineering information became available. Further modifications
to the Preferred Route may be developed during the preliminary design stage of the scheme. To view the present preferred route click on the different route sections below.

Maps Of Route Options
Section A, 87K
Section B, 87K
Section C, 91K
Section D, 92K
Section E, 87K
Section F, 91K
Section G, 97K

Section A
The Preferred Route runs due south from the existing Kilcullen M9/N78 junction to the east of the existing N9 (Option A5). South of Kilgowan and Baronsland it turns to the south-west, crosses the existing N9 and passes to the east of Narraghmore Bog. Further south it crosses the Ballitore to Kildare Road and passes between Nine Tree Hill and Ballitore. View Map

Section B
The Preferred Route (Option B5) continues south and crosses the Ballitore to Athy Road. From a junction near this location a single
carriageway link road will be constructed as part of the scheme, westwards to the N78 at Athy and eastwards to the existing N9 close to the junction with the Ballitore to Baltinglass Road.

The Preferred Route continues south, at a distance of between two and four kilometres to the west of the existing N9 and crosses the Castledermot to Athy Road. View Map

Section C
The Preferred Route (Option C6) is between three and four kilometres to the west of Castledermot and will have a junction with the existing N9 near Prumpelstown Cross Roads. From here it runs to the east of Carlow Town passing one kilometre east of Palatine, and continuing southwards via Johnstown and Busherstown. A junction with the N80 will be provided at Rathcrogue with connections to and from the north only. The route then passes to the east and south of Tinryland.
View Map

Section D
The Preferred Route (Option D3) passes immediately to the north of Clonmelsh Quarry before crossing the Dublin-Waterford Railway
(Option D2) and passing close to the north of the Powerstown land fill site. A junction with the exsisting N9 will be provided at this location. The preferred Route Coridor crosses the River Barrow approximately two kilometres south of Milford Bridge and passes just east of Seskin Cross and Reddy's Cross. View Map

Section E
The preferred Route Corridor is broadly a combination of options E1 and E2. The preferred Route Corridor follows a south-westerly direction from Paulstown where a junction will be provided to the west of the village with a link to the exsisting N10. The Preferred Route Corridor crosses the exsisting N10 at Blanchvillespark and continues to Rathcash where a link road to Kilkenny City is proposed. The Kilkenny link takes a north-westerly direction and connects with Kilkenny via the proposed Kilkenny Ring Road Extension. Form here, the route takes a more southerly direction before crossing the River Nore to the North of Bennetsbridge. The Preferred Route Corridor (E1) continues to the south-east of Danesfort, where a junction with the N10 is proposed. It continues south to cross the Kings River to the west of Stoneyford. View Map

Section F
The Preferred Route Corridor here broadly follows the F1 option as presented in Public Consultation No2. It follows a line to the west of Knockadrina Hill and continues to the west of Knocktopher, where a junction is proposed. The route continues to the east of Hugginstown Village and south to Keatingstown where it takes an easterly direction.
View Map

Section G
The Preferred Route Corridor crosses the exsisting N9 between the villages of Knockmoylan and Lukeswell before turning south through Smithstown and continues on a route to the east of Mullinavat. The route crosses the existing rpad at Dunkitt, before joining the proposed Waterford Bypass. View Map

The Need For The Project
This scheme is one of the inter-urban routes to be developed to motorway/high quality dual carriageway standard as part of the National Development Plan. The National Development Plan, 2000 - 2006, identified a number of transport objectives including
• improving the reliability of the road transport system
• providing better access between the regions
• reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries
caused by road accidents.

A subsequent study, undertaken by the National Roads Authority (NRA), concluded that the new road between Dublin and Waterford would be located in what is known as the Central Corridor serving the counties of Kildare, Carlow, Laois, Kilkenny and adjacent counties.

The proposed road will be constructed to a motorway or high quality dual carriageway standard in its entirety so as to ensure consistency of route standard, maximise road safety benefits and secure uniform operating characteristics. Right turning traffic across the central reserve will not be permitted. In general, existing roads
will remain open with the provision of under-bridges or over-bridges therefore maintaining access to local towns and villages.

Grade separated junctions will be provided at a number of locations along the route, namely Kilcullen, Ballitore, Carlow North, Rathcrogue, Carlow South, Paulstown, Kilkenny, Danesfort, Knocktopher
and Mullinavat.

What Happens Next?
The views from this consultation will be taken into consideration when preparing the preliminary design of the scheme. An Environmental Impact Assessment will be carried out. Following publication of the Compulsory Purchase Orders and Environmental Impact Statement, an Oral Hearing may follow. An Bord Pleanála may approve the scheme with or without modifications.

Project Schedule Here

Please comment by using the sheet available and return it in the ‘freepost’ envelope by December 1st 2001 if possible....or write to
Senior Engineer,
Kildare County Council
Kildare National Roads Design Office
Maudlins, Naas, Co. Kildare
Tel: 045-898199
Fax 045-875845

or

N9/N10 Project Co-ordinator
Kilkenny County Council
John Street, Kilkenny
Tel: 056 52699
Fax: 056 63384
Freephone 1800 488 884