Satisfactory completion of Nenagh road scheme

Tipperary Co Council's successful completion of a major realignment project on Nenagh's main Thurles road at Knockalton has made the area safer whilst also improving journey times.

Traffic volumes of around 4,500 vehicles per day pass through the townsland on the R498, approximately 5% of which are heavy goods vehicles. The road widening/realignment scheme commences just south of Junction 25 of the M7 Motorway and extends 1.5km in the direction of Thurles.

Prior to the scheme, the road was relatively narrow, being approximately 5.5m wide. It was closed in by trees and hedges at the roadsides. The design of the scheme
provided both road widening of 3.5m carriageways with a half a metre of hard strip on each side and pavement strengthening, thereby improving traffic safety and load carrying capacity as well as journey time. The finished scheme has now opened up incredible views of the surrounding countryside, particularly on the Nenagh approach.

The main issue for the project was the widening and realignment of the pavement whilst maintaining the flow of traffic on the R498. There were no suitable local diversions to allow closure of the R498 during the works, therefore traffic management was a key factor in the scheme.

The works comprised excavation to sub-grade level with new road construction in green field areas and strengthening of the existing road surface where present. The pavement was then surfaced with SMA (Stone Mastic Asphalt) over the entire length of the scheme. In addition, new infiltration trenches and grass verges were constructed either side of the carriageway along the length of the scheme, a new water main was laid in the grass margin for a distance of 1km, and the overhead Eir network was undergrounded.

The entire cost of the scheme was funded by Tipperary County Council from development levies. The preliminary design and land acquisition agreements, and a topographical survey of the works area were completed in-house.

Tobin Consulting Engineers were appointed to prepare the detailed design and road works tender documents. GLAS Civil Engineering Ltd was awarded the contract and commenced works on December 10th 2018. The works proceeded through to substantial completion in July 2019.