€100m plan to end Cork traffic nightmare

A €100m transformation of the busiest road junction in Cork will breathe new life into the region and create much-needed jobs, industry leaders said today.

The traffic-choked Dunkettle Interchange used by 95,000 motorists daily will become a completely free-flow junction, with looping flyovers and slip roads, under plans unveiled by the National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday.

The multi-million euro scheme has been compared to the complete revamp of the traffic bottleneck at the Red Cow in Dublin, where a congested roundabout was replaced with slip roads and flyovers to ensure traffic flowed freely.

Consultants working on behalf of the NRA revealed five different options for Dunkettle yesterday.

The final project to be chosen by September could include up to 10 bridges, with looping flyovers, new access routes to Little Island and Glounthane and a completely new roundabout adjacent to the existing Dunkettle Interchange. Construction of the project will begin in 2014 if funding is secured.