Almost €38.8 million allocation to Clare for regional and local road works – Crowe
- €15m ringfenced for Killaloe Bypass/Shannon River Crossing Project
- Adds to €600,000 announced this week for LIS
Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe has welcomed the allocation of €38,784,600 for Clare County Council under the 2023 investment programme for regional and local roads.
The money has been announced as part of a total €626m nationwide investment in the country’s roads, which will see 3,100km of local and regional roads maintained and 2,500km strengthened.
“A county like Clare is extremely reliant on a decent road network and without capital investment like this, it would not be possible to address issues on our roads,” said Deputy Crowe.
“We’re a mainly rural county and the vast majority of these regional and local roads lead to remote extremities of Clare that rely on proper links to the urban centres for basic services.
“Over €12.8m has been allocated to restoration improvement works in the county; while €1.8m will go towards maintenance works.
“It’s fantastic to see a sum of €15 million ringfenced specifically for the Killaloe Bypass, Shannon Bridge Crossing and R494 Improvement Scheme, which includes 12.4km of foot and cycleways and would potentially provide access to the proposed Limerick to Scariff Greenway.
“In addition, €739,000 has been allocated to climate change adaptation and resilience works which includes key drainage and road stabilisation works in many parts of the county.
“€612,000 will be spent on upgrading 22 bridges around the county, while €530,000 is going towards safety improvement works.
“A segment of €500,000, meanwhile, is to be spent on rehabilitation works on the R458 – formerly the N85.
“All of this funding comes in addition to the almost €600,000 announced by Minister Heather Humphreys yesterday for the Local Improvement Scheme in Clare, which will target smaller boreens and laneways not maintained by the council.
“It’s extremely welcome to see an investment of this scale in our county’s roads.”
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