The “frustration” of decades of traffic congestion and long tailbacks in Killaloe, Co Clare, and Ballina, Co Tipperary, abruptly ended after an €88 million bridge linking the two lakeside tourist towns was officially opened on Thursday.
Christened after former high king of Ireland Brian Ború, who ruled from the area 1,000 years ago, the Brian Ború bridge, part of a 6.2km bypass scheme, is the first vehicular bridge to cross the Shannon river since the opening of Shannon Way Bridge in 1991. That bridge connects Athlone, Co Westmeath, to the east and Roscommon to the west.
The bridge, a “complex engineering feat” took two-and-a-half years to complete, and it is hoped the link will boost the local economy while also improving the quality of life for residents and visitors by diverting traffic and HGVs out of both centres.
New cycling and pedestrian facilities are also included along the 6.2km route connecting the existing R494 from Ballina to the M7 link road at Birdhill.
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Describing it as a “transformative” development, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the funding allocated by the department represented a “significant” Government investment in regional infrastructure and continued investment in modernising the country’s road network.
The Minister said the development would “significantly enhance” safety on the regional road network as well as encouraging “more sustainable, active travel along this vital corridor”.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Cllr Alan O’Callaghan said the development was a welcome relief for locals who had endured decades of traffic congestion that “led to long tailbacks causing significant pollution and poor air quality from standing traffic”.
Cllr O’Callaghan said: “The daily frustration from 7,000 vehicles a day crossing the old single-lane bridge cannot be overestimated, with road safety also an issue due to the lack of segregation between pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles ... but today all that will change.”
Clare County Council chief executive Gordon Daly said the new route would be “a catalyst for social and economic development” locally.
Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council Cllr Declan Burgess said it was “a historic day” and pledged that the completed scheme “will remove traffic from the towns and allow them to fulfil their potential for both the existing residents and the many tourists that will be attracted to the area”.
According to Sinéad Carr, chief executive of Tipperary County Council, the development, which was constructed by Sisk and designed by RPS Consulting Engineers, “could not have been delivered without the co-operation of the local communities in both towns and I want to thank them for their patience and understanding as they tolerated the disruption that came with the construction”.
“I am sure that everyone can agree that any inconvenience was well worth it now that we have the finished product in place,” Ms Carr said.
