Top three major road improvement jobs to tackle in the Nenagh Municipal District are identified

The winding and narrow stretch of the N52 between Borrisokane and Ballingarry has made it into the top three road project priorities identified by local councillors for upgrade works.

Local representatives in the Nenagh Municipal District say the notorious stretch is by far the worst section of the main N52 primary route that stretches all the way from Nenagh to Ardee in Co Louth.

Now they are demanding that the national roads authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), takes action to remedy the situation, demanding that the authority carry out a major upgrade of the stretch.

Councillors also have two other priority road projects that they and the executive will be urging the TII to tackle when they meet officials of the authority over the coming months.

One is the further upgrade works on the N65 road through Carrigahorig, along with raising the level of same road west of the village towards Portumna, which has been under several feet of water during wet winters due to flooding of the nearby River Shannon.

The road is the main route to the West from North Tipperary and traffic has had to be diverted when the waters from river overflow onto the route. The other priority on the Top Three list is an upgrade of the N52 bypass of Nenagh.

Area Engineer Barry Murphy says the 6km bypass, stretching from Donal Ryan’s Garage on the Limerick Road to the Borrisokane Road Roundabout, is badly in need of a new surface. Mr Murphy said the bypass needs “significant intervention”.

Speaking at the July meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District, Mr Murphy said the bypass had to be tackled as soon as possible to prevent further deterioration. The works would necessitate what he called “a major scheme”.

BALLYHADEN STRETCH

Referring to the road from Ballyhaden, Borrisokane, on towards Ballingarry, Mr Murphy said the narrow stretch had very poor alignment.

He said the council would continue to carry out routine maintenance on the stretch. However, the fundamental problem was the getting proper alignment. The cost of this was way beyond the scope of the council and would have to be funded by the TII.

Cllr Joe Hannigan said he had been trying since he was Cathaoirlech in 2019 to get the TII to upgrade the stretch of road. It was the worst stretch on the entire N52, and despite all the calls for action to improve it, nothing had been done. “We highlight this every year, but the TII don’t seem to be listening to us.”

Cllr John Carroll, the longest serving member of the county council, said local representatives where urging for the upgrade of the road as far back as the 1990s. He said the road was not fit to take heavy vehicles such as buses and lorries. A tougher approach needed to be taken now by the council to ensure the TII provided funds for the necessary works.

Cllr Michael O’ Meara voiced concerns that none of the priority projects targeted by the council may get funding. He said a cautionary approach in relation to the economy was resulting in government turning down a lot of very necessary road improvements over recent years.