DETAILED plans of the proposed South Eastern Motorway, designed to link the Dublin "C-ring" with the N11 Rosslare road, have been put on public exhibition by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
The road, which is expected to cost more than £100 million, was identified by the Government sponsored Dublin Transportation Initiative as an essential part of the future road network around the capital.
With the Northern Cross Route due to open this year, the Western Parkway already open and work on the Southern Cross route "imminent", consultant engineers M.C. O'Sullivan said this latest leg linking the C-ring to the N11 needs to be included in the current EU funded National Development Plan.
The local authority originally identified two routes for the proposed South Eastern Motorway, offering alternatives on the section between Carrickmines and Sandyford, known as Route A and Route B.
Route A caused intense controversy because of the height of the motorway on the foothills of the Dublin mountains near Ballinteer, a feeling among residents of Sandyford that they would be cut off from the city by a massive road, and the concerns of the British ambassador and Leopardstown Racecourse, both along the line of this route.
Route B also caused uproar when it was discovered that a 500 year old Pale ditch fortification would be crossed by the motorway.
"In presenting their report the consultants have largely opted for the line of Route A, although the interchanges and design of the road are completely new," the cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council explained yesterday.
"What this means is that while the racecourse and the ambassador's residence will still lose land, the access roads for local residents on the south side of the motorway will in fact be better than before," Ms Olivia Mitchell said.
The council has yet to debate the consultants' recommended route, and a special meeting has been called for June 18th in Dun Laoghaire town hall.
One problem facing councillors is the fact that land in the area between Murphystown and the M11 is among the most expensive in the country the six furlong track at Leopardstown would be cut in two and the route would require a deep cutting through granite rock east of Harold's Grange Road.
According to the consultants' report, this cutting "would exit on to an embankment providing a spectacular View of Dublin Bay and the Hill of Howth. This embankment continues for 360 metres on a right hand curve four to five metres over existing ground level where the Ballinteer junction would be constructed."
However, this is likely to upset environmentalists, who feel that the junction, illuminated at night, could be too large a visual intrusion on the city.