Cost of proposed bypass doubles hearing hears

The cost of the Fermoy bypass in Co Cork has almost doubled from €80 million in 2000 to the current estimate of €154 million, it was claimed yesterday.

In addition, the number of vehicles likely to use it is about half that expected by the National Roads Authority (NRA). That is the view of the Fermoy Bypass campaign which yesterday outlined its objections to a proposed tolling of the road, at a public hearing in Co Cork.

The campaign spokesman, Mr Donal O'Lochlainn, also said the "failure" of the bypass would result in six deaths a year, with cars remaining on the older, existing roads.

The inquiry is into NRA plans to place tolls on the proposed new section of the M8 which bypasses Rathcormac as well as Fermoy. The inquiry inspector's report will be submitted to the NRA board for a decision.The bypass group says the process allows the NRA to sit in judgment of its own plans.

Mr O'Lochlainn said: "We have it in writing from the NRA that this road would cost €80 million in 2000 and now they say the cost has almost doubled. But we have also done the research on the number of vehicles which would use the bypass and we think it is less than half the 20,000 estimated by the NRA."

The people of Fermoy have campaigned for a bypass for many years but the imposition of tolls means lorries will divert through Fermoy again to avoid the toll.

An NRA spokesman said serious gaps would emerge in the planned motorway network if it was not for public private partnerships: "€1.3 billion was identified in the National Development Plan as coming from PPPs, that is about a quarter of our funding, and the Government decided that should be financed by tolls."