REVEALED: €6.5 million plan for Kilkenny Ring Road

A plan costing an estimated €6.5 million will seek to make the N10 Ring Road safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists as the city expands beyond it, according to local TD John McGuinness.

Kilkenny County Council has engaged the services of a consultant engineer to investigate potential upgrades in the active travel facilities and desire lines for pedestrians and cyclists along the N10. These upgrades would include the introduction of safe crossings at several points along the ring road, with overhauls of key junctions.

The proposed project will consist of five phases, with Phase One set to include new developments at the Dublin Road junction, and on the Bohernatounish Road, the Waterford Road and at Kilkenny Retail Park. Due to a fatal pedestrian traffic accident there in November 2022, there will be a special focus on safe crossing facilities at Kilkenny Retail Park.

Deputy McGuinness believes these forms of safe crossings work “exceptionally well” in mainland Europe. “It requires motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who use these breaks across the ring road to be conscious of their own safety and the safety of others,” he says.

It is estimated that, assuming no objections or unforeseen delays, the first phase alone will take three years to complete at an approximate cost of €6.5 million. Costs will be confirmed once a detailed design has been completed. Funding to the value of €200,000 has been secured from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) for 2025 in order to progress the scheme.

“The city is moving beyond the ring road,” says Deputy McGuinness. “The ring road is no longer outside of our city limits, it’s slowly but surely becoming a road within. Our planning for what needs to happen must be based on the growth that is happening in Kilkenny, and the future needs of everyone who uses that ring road.”

Due to the complexity of each junction, coupled with the need to ensure continuity of design across the road network, the entire scheme will be designed as one project prior to its submission to the planning authority. Once planning has been approved and funding secured, the tender process for Phase One will begin.

“We’re being choked in terms of business, school and our quality of life because we don’t have a ring road that is up to standard for the people who live and work in our city today,” says Deputy McGuinness. “We need to look forward to what needs to be done rather than reacting.”

Deputy McGuiness has also invited all elected representatives, communities, schools and businesses of Kilkenny to come forward with any concerns and requirements they might have about the project’s design, so that they can be addressed during the planning process.

“Although we are still in the early stages of modelling and design phase, please be assured that we are working to improve the safety for all and to avoid any further tragedies in the future,” he concluded.