Bandon walkway is now costing more than €1m per kilometre.
THE controversial €3.5m extension to the Clare O’Leary Walk in Bandon, which was scheduled to open last month but has now been delayed to July, has been described by one local councillor as ‘West Cork’s bike shed’ due to the spiralling cost of the project and the lengthy delays to finish it.
The Southern Star reported in March that the total cost of the 2.8km long Clare O’Leary Walk active travel extension, which runs on the outskirts of Bandon on the N71 towards Innishannon and began last August, would be €3.5m and was to open to the public in May.
However, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) confirmed that this date has now been put back to July.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said this project began as a proposal from Cork County Council for a ‘modest walkway’ to join up with the existing Clare O’Leary Walk.
‘However Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) took it over and said they would complete it as part of the road project on the Glasslyn Road. The Council had first negotiated the purchase of small bits of land from three landowners but then more land had to be bought for this grandiose walkway,’ said Cllr Coleman.
‘This project is completely over-engineered, over-spec’d, and it’s giving Greenways a bad name. This walkway is definitely West Cork’s bike shed.’
He pointed out that on the other side of the town, the town’s southern bypass received one tenth in funding (€350,000) of the total cost of this walkway extension.
‘It has gone completely over the top. In one place there’s about eight metres of stone under a walkway on the Innishannon side whereby the soil there was good enough. This is crazy stuff and there should be an investigation into it.’
He said this project has caused a lot a disruption to people using the N71, with reduced speed limits in place for months and stop/go systems in place.
‘People are really angry about this and the benefits they will get from this are very questionable.’
A TII spokesperson said the project is two months behind the original timeline, and that inclement weather in January and February slowed down progress in a major way, especially when a large amount of earthworks remained to be completed at this stage.
‘The contractor encountered delays in the delivery of ground reinforcement materials which formed an integral part of the works. The project required specialised engineering solutions to meet the current active travel guidelines.’
They added that to align with these guidelines and address the challenges posed by the terrain and topography in the area, two reinforced soil embankments had to be built.
These tasks are weather dependent, and unfavourable weather conditions have slowed progress.
TII expect that the final tarmacadam surface will be laid late this month and the whole project will be ‘substantially complete’ at the end of June.
‘The facility will then be opened to the public in early July 2025.’
