At Last- Kilkenny is getting a decent road!

road_high

For all Kilkenny people here, just to update you all on the N9 dual-carriageway through the county. Works are about to begin on the very worst section of road between Kilkenny and Waterford, (and Carlow/Dublin).
After years of waiting we will hopefully have a decent link between the two largest urban centres in the s east by 2009/10.

Here is a KK People article on the road and impending progress underway:
KK people article on N9 progress

---

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/ViewArt...icleID=1746128

300 landowners locked in negotiations over road
MORE than 300 landowners are locked in negotiations with council officials over compensation for their land as the government ploughs ahead with plans to build a major road which will cross the county.
The N9 is the single largest road project ever to be undertaken in the state and will stretch for 110 kilometres. The project will cost at least E600m. This estimated cost does not include the compensation for landowners for compulsory purchases. A full breakdown of the estimated costs will be published later this year after they have been assessed. They are expected to be substantially higher than first envisaged because of the huge hike in land prices in recent years.
Ongoing negotiations
The negotiations involve the purchase of land for the new highway which will run from Kilcullen in Co Kildare to Waterford.
"At the beginning there was some opposition but this has been resolved," said Mr Joe Gannon who is the project coordinator for road design with Kilkenny County Council and is overseeing part of the project. 'We are ready to drive on with the project. There are 300 landowners that we are in talks with on the stretch of road from Waterford to Powerstown. Hopefully the negotiations will be completed shortly and won't drag on," Mr Gannon added.
Work to date
Work on the dual carriageway which will run from Co Kildare to Waterford will be carried out in four stages. The first section of the project stretches from Prumplestown in Co Kildare to Powerstown in Co Carlow. Work started on this 17-kilometre stretch of road in May and to date there have been no delays.
Kilkenny stage
The second section stretches from Waterford to Knocktopher. Work on this stretch of road will start later this year. Mr Gannon outlined the timeframe for this stage of the project. "At the moment we are assessing a number of tenders and expect to reach a decision on that by the end of September. We hope to be on site by the end of the year and to have completed the work by mid 2009," he said.
A tender process for the third part of the project which deals with the road running from Powerstown to Kilcullen will start in September. A contractor is expected to be appointed in the Spring and the construction work is due to be finished by the end of 2010.
The N9 will skirt around Kilkenny City and there will be access to the city from the Danesfort Cross and at Dunbell. A road will also be built connecting the road from Dunbell to the Hebron Road. Mr Gannon also confirmed that the final plans include a link from the N9 to the Waterford bypass which means that people will no longer be forced to travel through Waterford to get out onto the Cork Road.
Archaelogical work is currently taking place in South Kilkenny and a number of interesting discoveries have been unearthed. A team of archaeologists will begin excavating at Powerstown later this month.
06 September 2006

Stephen

I'm not familiar with how the road will be laid out when this is finished. When the work is done, would you then go to Waterford from Kilkenny by driving out the Carlow road (N10) and linking up with the N9 out near Paulstown somewhere, or would you still go by the present Waterford road? If so, are there any plans from KK council to upgrade the road between Kilkenny and Knocktopher to make the best of this then, since it is a bag of sh1t once you get past Danesfort?

fricatus

Stephen wrote:

I'm not familiar with how the road will be laid out when this is finished. When the work is done, would you then go to Waterford from Kilkenny by driving out the Carlow road (N10) and linking up with the N9 out near Paulstown somewhere, or would you still go by the present Waterford road? If so, are there any plans from KK council to upgrade the road between Kilkenny and Knocktopher to make the best of this then, since it is a bag of sh1t once you get past Danesfort?

The section about to begin over the next month or so will run from Waterford to Knocktopher and be finished in 2008/2009. So to get to Waterford at that point, you will head for Knocktopher as as you do now, but then turn off for a few hundred metres on a side road (Callan road?). Then you will be able to get onto the dual carriageway, which will take you the rest of the way to Blaa.

There's another section still at the planning stage (which will probably open 6 months to a year later) to run as a continuation of the dual carriageway from Knocktopher, swinging south of Kilkenny and joining up with the road currently being built south of Carlow (near the dump there). As far as I know, there will be a junction with the N10 at Danesfort, so that would mean your journey would take you out the existing N10 as far as there, and then you would have dual carriageway the rest of the way after that.

road_high

Stephen wrote:

I'm not familiar with how the road will be laid out when this is finished. When the work is done, would you then go to Waterford from Kilkenny by driving out the Carlow road (N10) and linking up with the N9 out near Paulstown somewhere, or would you still go by the present Waterford road? If so, are there any plans from KK council to upgrade the road between Kilkenny and Knocktopher to make the best of this then, since it is a bag of sh1t once you get past Danesfort?

As Fricatus points out, the intitial pahase of N9 through Co. Kilkenny will begin in the next few months (some work is actually ongoing with archeology etc), and it will run from outside Waterford to Knocktopher and link with the existing N10 there. This is Phase 2 of the N9, Phase 1 being the Carlow bypass section.
This is a very wise move as it will eliminate the very worst sections of the road through Mullianvat-Lukeswell-Ballyhale.Initially this stretch was going to be left til last but thankfully the NRA and the councils changed this; a very wise move considering it's abysmal state at present!
There will be an interchange at Mullinavat and Knocktopher, serving south Kilkenny.
From Knocktopher to Leighlinbridge is effectively the second phase of the dual carriageway, and construction is to commence spring/mid-2007. It is this section that will serve Kilkenny directly.
It will link at two points forKilkenny at Danesfort (right where the road gets good), and a new link road will be built between Dunbell (out beyond Purcellsinch) and linkwth a new roundabout on the N77 ring road extension, out beyond the Hebron Ind. Estate. I guess we will be able to link onto the N9dual carriageway at either point, mainly depending on where in town you're entering from. Waterford traffic will mainly exit at Danesfort, Dublin/Carlow bound at the Dunbell one.
I might also add the Kilkenny city is VERY lucky to be getting two interchanges on/off the new road. They are perfectly located, not too near town but yet close enough to maximise the benefits. These are exciting times in the long-awaited delivery of a proper road infrastructure to Kilkenny and our neighbouring counties;)
The website dedicated for this project is www.n9-n10kilcullen-waterford.ie, and contains useful maps on the route the road will take through the region.