People urged to sign petition for relief road around Mountmellick

WITH tens of thousands of euro already spent on consultants and the seemingly never-ending discussions about an inner relief road for Mountmellick, traffic congestion continues to be a major problem in the town.

Another efforts has now commenced to try and take the traffic away from the centre of the town.

A local community activist has drawn up a petition in an attempt to get the relief road, once and for all.

Jason McInerney, who describes himself as a Sinn Féin community activist, is urging people to sign a petition - ‘Build Mountmellick Relief Road Now’.

He said: “Mountmellick, a vibrant town in County Laois, Ireland, is suffering from severe traffic congestion. With more than 8,500 vehicles passing through daily, our town centre is in desperate need of relief. The lack of a dedicated relief road is not only choking the life out of our community but also stifling our potential for growth.

“Daily congestion makes it unsafe for pedestrians, as crossing the street becomes a risky endeavour. Moreover, the limited availability of parking spaces is crippling for small family businesses, leading to a decline in customers and forcing some businesses to close their doors. Our once-busy main street is becoming increasingly vacant, and the economic heart of Mountmellick is weakening.” 

Mr McInerney said: “Despite these challenges, the government has announced that the construction of Mountmellick’s Relief Road will not be included in the national roads plan before 2030. This delay is unacceptable. Our community cannot afford to wait another seven years to address this urgent issue.

“A relief road is not just a necessity for easing traffic; it is crucial for the revitalisation of our town's economy and for providing a safer environment for our residents. This project will bring positive change to Mountmellick by reducing congestion, improving walkability, and attracting more visitors and businesses back to our town.

“We must unite to put pressure on the government to prioritize the construction of this vital relief road. I urge everyone to sign this petition to make Mountmellick’s voice heard loud and clear. Let's also reach out to local representatives and TDs to ensure that Mountmellick is no longer left behind. With your support, we can get this crucial project on the agenda and delivered for our community.

"Please sign this petition and help us bring about the change Mountmellick desperately needs. (www.change.org/p/build-mountmellick-relief-road-now) 

Talks about providing Mountmellick with an inner relief road have been around for well over 50-years.

There was some good news about the provision of the road when in October 2006 it was announced that €2.8 million had been set aside for “preparatory works on the proposed inner relief road for the town”.

In February 2007, a Bord Pleanála oral hearing on the relief road was held.

At the April council meeting that same year, the then senior engineer Michael O'Hora said the National Roads Authority (NRA) (now Transport Infrastructure Ireland - TII) had allocated €150,000 for the initial planning stages of the route. He said that in order to complete the final stages of the consultation process, which includes the CPO stage, an additional €350,000 was required and needs the approval of the NRA. He said that the NRA had committed €19 million for ‘Route A’ which was turned down by ABP and that the council had not yet approved additional funding for an alternative route, but he was “hopeful it would”.

However, in November 2007, the proposed relief road was stopped in its tracks when the NRA told councillors that there was no money to fund the proposals.

In December of that year, former Independent councillor Michael Moloney said that the NRA had rejected an alternative ‘Route B’ and asked the council to re-evaluate ‘Route A.’ 

Following heated discussions at that council meeting, the then director of services Gerry Gibson said: “For once and for all, we can’t revisit ‘Route A’ to restart the process. There were objections to it by the Mountmellick Development Association (MDA) and 26 residents. It went to ABP and they threw it out.” 

In March 2008, town commissioner Bobby Delaney said that he would “lead people out onto the streets in protest and halt traffic if Mountmellick does not get an inner relief road.” 

Two months later, the then Mountmellick-based minister of state John Moloney, local TD Charlie Flanagan and county manager Peter Carey had a meeting with NRA officials.

In an interview with the *Laois Nationalist* following that meeting, minister Moloney said: “The position now is that the costs have escalated. What started off at about €8m is now around €22m. The NRA now says it is not value for money and they will totally oppose this. They will not give us €22m. There is no way it is going to happen.” 

A month later, the then deputy county manager Declan Byrne told a meeting of town councillors in Mountmellick: “The NRA is looking at funding an outer by-pass.” 

Matters abated somewhat until April 2017, when the relief road reappeared on the council’s agenda.

At that meeting, the then county executive officer Mr Mulholland told councillors that the local authority had received €100,000 to carry out a feasibility study on the possibility of constructing a bypass around the centre of Mountmellick from the western side of the town.

Speaking at the same meeting, Mountmellick-based councillor Paddy Bracken said: “A lot of groundwork was done before. There was an alternative route planned before from Derrycloney. It's very badly needed for the town. I hope the work progresses at a pace.” 

At that meeting, the then director of services Kieran Kehoe said: “We will start preparing a scheme and will appoint consultants within the next few months.” At the March 2019 council meeting, Mr Mulholland told councillors: “Laois County Council has prepared tender documents for the appointment of consulting engineers to complete a feasibility study for the N80 Mountmellick Relief Road.

“TII approval to proceed to tender was received on 14 March and the tender documents were issued to the consulting engineers on the TII framework on 15 March. Tenders are to be delivered to Laois County Council by 15 April.” Director of services Donal Brennan went on to inform councillors that he expected the tender to be awarded by mid-summer and the feasibility study to be completed by April 2020.

The matter was back on the council’s agenda again in 2022 when the then cathaoirleach cllr Conor Bergin sought an update on the proposed N80 bypass for Mountmellick.

He said that over 10,000 vehicles pass through the town on a daily basis and causing a lot of congestion in the town.

“There was a traffic feasibility study done last year and it can’t be left sitting there. The town needs a bypass. We need an indication from national level that this can be done,” he said.

Cllr Bracken said that “Mountmellick is destroyed from traffic.” 

During the 2024 general election campaign while on an election visit to Mountmellick, the then Taoiseach Simon Harris gave a commitment to prioritise the bypass for the town. 

He told reporters: “I do think road projects need to progress. If we are back in Government these sorts of projects will be a priority. If we got Willie Aird in the Dáil as well we’ll have someone to work for you.” Earlier this year the council rejected a planning application on the grounds that the “Mountmellick Local Area Plan 2018-2024 seeks to reserve all lands for future relief roads free of development in conjunction with the requirements of the Roads Authority. Also, TII rejected call for funding for tractor laybys on the Mountmellick to Portlaoise Road, because “It is noted that the next potential future intervention may be likely to come under the category of town bypass”.