Laois town ‘bypassed again’ as local TD pleads for construction of ‘very important’ relief road 

A Laois TD has said Mountmellick has been “bypassed again” for funding on a ” very important” relief road.

Laois Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley said the relief road in the town has been promised “for a long number of years,” saying it is “very important” that the road be built.

Speaking in Dáil Éireann, Deputy Stanley said Mountmellick has been “neglected badly over the years” in terms of infrastructure, saying the relief road in particular “has been talked about and promised for about 30 years.”

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien recently announced that the Department of Transport will provide €633 million funding for national roads.

Deputy Stanley said when he checked the list of projects which received part of this funding, “it had everywhere from Ballaghaderreen to Midleton and Youghal, but nowhere does Mountmellick figure.

“Limerick has four pieces of substantial infrastructure; Cork also has four and Laois has zero.

The suggested relief road would connect the Portlaoise Road to the Tullamore Road, bypassing the town of Mountmellick, and ultimately connect the west of the country to the the N80.

“There are over 8,500 vehicles per day going through the centre of Mountmellick town, many of them HGVs,” Deputy Stanley said.

“There are significant bottlenecks, particularly at the junction of Pearse Street and Sarsfield Street. It is difficult for them to get articulated trucks around it.

“It is also holding back the town to have HGVs and traffic trundling through every day.

“Mountmellick is a substantial town with a large population. It is lacking in industry and infrastructure.

“We need to get this moving because there is now much more freight going to the port of Rosslare, particularly with Brexit.

“The port has been upgraded and new infrastructure has been put in. We need to put in the roads to feed into that.”

Deputy Stanley said Laois County Council spent €105,000 on a feasibility study which outlined a new proffered route for the relief road, which he said would “shorten the journey by nearly 60%.”

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