Kilkenny’s new and improved road network in the eastern environs was opened last week with a plaque unveiling.
The new and upgraded Golf Links Road, New Orchard Road, and Lovers Lane were launched by the chairman of Kilkenny County Council Michael O’Brien before a small gathering of council officials, developers, and locals.
Cllr O’ Brien told the gathering that Kilkenny County Council’s upgrading scheme of the Old Golf Links Road, New Orchard Road, and the Johnswell Road is a merited county council response to the substantial increase in public usage of this roadway network in recent years.
“As a developing environs area, parts of the scheme were funded by Kilkenny County Council from development contributions collected from developments in the locality. The road improvement works undertaken along the Old Golf Links Road and New Orchard Road were approximately 1.8km in length. In addition improvements were also made to a 360m section of Lovers’ Lane. The road carriageway width along the Old Golf Links Road and New Orchard Road has been widened to 7m.”
Mr O’Brien also outlined that the new improvements provided for sustainable modes of travel including walking, cycling, and public transport.
“In this regard, footpaths, cycle-tracks and bus bays have been provided along the route. Although pedestrians could previously use existing footpaths to walk along some of the route, the intermittent nature and poor quality of the same was not conducive to walking, particularly as pedestrians had to cross the road on a number of occasions to access the available footpaths and this was particularly so for people living along the New Orchard Road,” he said.
Some of the new improvement features include dedicated controlled pedestrian crossing points, provision of dropped kerbs with tactile paving at all strategic pedestrian crossing points, on street/sheltered parking, upgrading and provision of public lighting, provision of a roundabout at the junction of Lovers Lane, Golf Links Road, and New Orchard Road along with substantial landscaping along the route including the planting of semi-mature trees and the creation of green areas and the provision of new road signage and markings.
Councillor O’Brien, thanked Hayes Higgins & Co which undertook the design and contract documents process, and Priority Construction Ltd which completed the contract works to a high standard and ahead of time.
