Major update issued on planned Limerick to Cork motorway.

The towns of Croom and Charleville plus the village of Bruree are planned to be be linked up to the Limerick to Cork motorway.

The team responsible for delivering the €1.5bn project have this week issued a major update on the proposals which will significantly improve travel times between Ireland’s second and third cities.

As part of this, it has announced a ‘junction strategy’ which outlines the towns and villages along the route which will have a direct link to the motorway.

In Limerick, connectivity is to be provided with the communities of Bruree and Croom as well as linking in with the N21 road at Attyflynn near Patrickswell. On the Limerick/Cork border, there will be a junction at Charleville.

South of the border, junctions are planned to be provided at Blarney, Rathduff, Mourneabbey, Mallow and Buttevant.

At these junctions, it’s projected to have park-and-ride facilities, with electric vehicle charging points, and public transport links to both Limerick and Cork.

Active travel infrastructure is planned, with shared cycle and walking tracks split between the existing N20 road, and the new motorway, where there are space restrictions on the national link.

However, these facilities will be some distance away from the carriageway of the proposed M20.

Speaking to LimerickLive, Jari Howard, the project co-ordinator of the scheme said it’s hoped a business case for these measures will be made to government by next year.

If this is approved, the next step will be a planning application for the massive scheme to An Bord Pleanala.

It’s hoped a planning application will go forward for the Limerick-Cork motorway by next year. PICTURE: ADRIAN BUTLER

From the Limerick Leader.