Waterford city will get its second river-crossing on schedule, regardless of a row which had threatened to delay the development, the National Roads Authority said yesterday.
An ongoing dispute over the route of the Kilmeaden bypass had raised fears of a delay in the construction of Waterford's long-awaited second bridge over the River Suir. The bridge will enable traffic on the Rosslare-Cork road to bypass the city.
The two bypasses are twin elements of a project due to be completed by 2005. The chief executive of the NRA, Mr Michael Tobin, said the Kilmeaden bypass would be abandoned if necessary, if agreement on the route could not be reached.
The NRA wished to see the bypass of Kilmeaden proceed but the city bypass had to be given priority.
A renewed attempt to resolve the row over the Kilmeaden bypass was made yesterday by Waterford county manager Mr Donal Connolly, who presented a compromise proposal to councillors at an informal meeting.
Council officials believe the current route will not pass an environmental impact assessment because of its impact on the micro-climate of the 100acre garden at Mount Congreve Estate.
Councillors have refused to change the route, however, claiming the alternative proposed by Mr Connolly and the NRA would have a devastating effect on local residents. Fine Gael councillor Mr John Carey said people must come before gardens and flowers.
Mr Connolly now hopes a composite of the two routes involved will prove acceptable to both sides. The matter is to come before the council again next month, and in the meantime further consultations will take place with residents.
Two councillors who backed the residents' stance at last week's council meeting said it was too early to say whether the new route would prove acceptable. "It is a compromise but I don't know if it is going to be enough to satisfy them," said Mr Gerard Barron of the Labour Party.
Mr John Deasy of Fine Gael said officials were now seriously engaging in discussions with residents for the first time. "People are not prepared to get hit over the head with a CPO (compulsory purchase order) any more, and this whole issue is indicative of that," he said.
