Plans progress for new road on outskirts of Waterford City
Paul Johnston, Senior Engineer at Waterford City and County Council, outlined the plans to the elected members at City Hall.
Plans for a new road on the outskirts of Waterford City have progressed to the next stage, it was announced at the October meeting of the Waterford Metropolitan District.
The proposed Gracedieu Strategic Residential Distributor Road was discussed at the October meeting, following funding approval for the project announced at an earlier meeting.
Paul Johnston, Senior Engineer at Waterford City and County Council, outlined the plans to the elected members, noting that a similar distributor road proposed for the location was approved in December 2017.
However, the residential scheme proposed for the area never moved beyond the proposal stage and a road was never built.
The land where the proposed road would be built has since changed ownership though, and the current owner proposes to deliver a large residential development in the area, Mr Johnston explained.
Waterford City and County Council announced funding for the project in June this year, saying it had secured €5 million in funding for the construction of the road under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF), which aims to fund the building of infrastructures that will speed up housing delivery.
The construction of the road is hoped to allow for the construction of up to 5,000 homes in the area.
At the meeting, Independent councillor Joe Kelly said he was “delighted” to see the plans for the road come before the council, adding that the “progressive plan and idea” is “very much welcome”.
Similarly, Fianna Fáil councillor Eamon Quinlan welcomed the proposal, saying that he hopes that the road will improve access to the De La Salle GAA Club grounds in the area.
