Ballinrobe bypass unlikely to be ready for up to eight years

The head of Mayo Co Council's Roads Design Office (RDO) has said it may take until 2033 for a car to travel along the planned Ballinrobe bypass.

Paul Hyland told members of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District that it will take three years before the council can seek planning permission from An Bord Pleanála for the Ballinrobe bypass, which is currently in its initial phase. He explained that a planning decision will take another year while two more years will be needed to prepare design documents and a further two years will be needed for construction. 

“You’re looking at 2033 by the time the Ballinrobe bypass will be open. That is the realistic timeframe we are looking at,” he said.

Mr Hyland also told councillors that progress in 2025 is largely dependent on the funding available to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the office resources available to the Mayo RDO. The allocation for the project in 2024, which was used primarily for the first phase, was €25,000. An outline proposal has been submitted to the TII for approval.

Mr Hyland said TII funding was the biggest challenge overall, and if it were not made available, certain projects would not proceed.

“Funding for TII is at maximum. We are seeking TII approval to appoint a contractor to the upgrade of the N59 from Newport to Derradda. If they can’t get that funding next year, then we will not be appointing that contractor.”

“It is not a slight on projects in this municipal district, but the national problem with TII is funding. That is the reality of the situation. Their funding model is not sufficient to cover projects [at the moment],” he said.

Cllr Damien Ryan said provision needs to be made at the next meeting of the council's roads strategic policy committee for councillors in the Ballinrobe area to attend the monthly meetings between TII and the Mayo RDO to reinforce the urgency of this issue.

“Gridlock will cause consternation," he said. "Emergency vehicles will be unable to get through a choked town and that will draw national criticism.”

Cllr Michael Burke said Ballinrobe cannot continue to wait for a bypass.

“Someone will lose a life because of the traffic or because an emergency vehicle cannot get to them and that will wake TII up," he said.

Cllr Patsy O’Brien said the sort of urgency that has been put on the Adare bypass in Limerick needs to be put on Ballinrobe.

“Adare is getting full attention now because it's hosting the Ryder Cup. It’s a pity there’s no Ryder Cup in Ballinrobe,” he said.

Cllr O'Brien added that a full-time air ambulance needs to be stationed in the South Mayo area to alleviate the risk of ground ambulances being unable to get through Ballinrobe.

The three councillors spoke in support of a link or alleviation road to help with the issues until the bypass can be progressed significantly.