Waterford's North Quays traffic will not be 'at optimal' until major works completed

The ongoing works on the North Quays continue to have a significant impact for road users in the surrounding areas. 

The road conditions along the North Quays were discussed at a recent meeting in Ferrybank.

During the Piltown Municipal District meeting Director of Services for Kilkenny County Council Ian Gardner spoke about the current traffic measures around the North Quays Strategic Development Zone. 

Mr Gardner said: "There were a couple of queries on the North Quays from the last meeting that are not on the agenda this time around. 

"The first is relating to the traffic signals on the junction of Abbey Road and Fountain Street. I spoke to the project engineer and maintenance operation of the traffic signals are the responsibility of the contractor."

The works at the Abbey Road/ Fountain Street junction have caused disruption and delays for the residents of Ferrybank. The area has also been subject to road closures throughout the development process. 

He continued: "Traffic will not be operating at their optimal until the works are near completion for a couple of reasons. The first is that Dock Road has been reduced to one lane. 

"Secondly, the detectors that are required to be in place to ensure optimal operation of signals can only be provided once all road surfacing works have been completed."

Difficult period

Mr Gardner stated that the contractors BAM are regularly "monitoring the signal timings and their refinement to improve capacity".

He added: "They did acknowledge that there was a particular issue regarding traffic [...] from the New Ross direction late last year but that has been rectified.

"Also, the period of Christmas was difficult to manage because of increased traffic, but we do have somebody monitoring on a regular basis."

Cathaoirleach Ger Frisby commented: "Definitely there has been a huge increase in inbound traffic. I think at the moment it does seem to be working fairly good."