N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Development

During the course of the project, relevant information and project updates will be made available through the contractor’s project website at the following link: www.n22bbm.ie

Contract Award

Cork County Council has awarded the construction contract for the N22 Ballyvourney Macroom Road Development Scheme following approval of funding from the Government and TII. The construction contract has been awarded to a Joint Venture of Jons Civil Engineering Company Ltd and John Cradock Ltd. This follows a competitive tender process with tenders received on the 28th June 2019. Formal contract signing will follow in the coming weeks and construction is expected to commence shortly thereafter. The construction period is expected to take up to 3.5 years.

It will provide a 22 km road improvement from the Cork side of Macroom, bypassing the Town of Macroom, the villages of, Baile Mhic Íre and Baile Bhuirne, the infamous Ballyvourney bends, and finishing on the improved section of the N22, just west of Baile Mhic Íre itself and before the County bounds with Kerry.

Background

The N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Development will see the construction of a 22km Type 2 Dual Carriageway constructed offline of the existing N22. There are interfaces between the new road development and the existing N22 at the eastern and western termini as well as two crossings of the existing road.

The road will be constructed through challenging terrain which varies through the development from hilly, remote land with rock outcrops at the western end, to low lying pasture lands to the east of Macroom. The road will cross a land-locked section of the Inniscarra Resevoir to the south east of Macroom.

There are approximately 18 road bridges (under and over bridges), 24 accommodation (under/over bridge) structures and a number of culvert structures to be constructed as part of the road project.

Planning Permission for the road development was granted in 2011 by An Bord Pleanala.

A series of advance works contract are ongoing since 2017, including fencing, archaeology, site clearance, site investigation and habitat creation. The Environmental Advance Works Contractor recently appointed is commencing landscaping works associated with the Kerry Slug habitat in April 2018.

Cork County Council together with their designers are preparing tender documentation with a view to commencing the main design and build contract in the near future.

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was completed in 2009 prior to planning being granted. The successful tenderer for the Design and Build contract will need to ensure the design and construction work takes into account the recommendations in the EIS.