Plans for new road in Cork's south docklands unveiled
Proposals for the Monahan Road Extension scheme — described as a key gateway to the south docklands — have been published for public consultation
Plans for a new road to help prime Cork’s south docklands for development have been unveiled.
A raft of Part 8 planning documents for the proposed Monahan Road Extension scheme — described as a key gateway to the south docklands — have been published for public consultation.
They show how the proposed four-lane two-way carriageway will run for 400m from Monahan Rd, at the existing junction with Marquee Road close to the entrance to the former Ford site and home to Live at the Marquee, where a new crossroads junction will be formed, towards the river lee.
From this new junction, the proposed road extension will run northeastwards, between the eastern boundary of the Live at the Marquee site and the northern boundary of the under-construction Marina Park, towards the river, passing to the northwest of Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
And at this point, the road levels will be elevated above existing ground level to connect to the future Eastern Gateway Bridge which will link the south docks to the Lower Glanmire Road on the northern banks of the river Lee.
The proposed Monahan Rd extension will have two eastbound and two westbound lanes, with a central reservation, verges, cycle tracks and footpaths.
The project includes the upgrading of the existing priority junction at Monahan Road and Marquee Road to a fully signalised four-arm junction, the realignment of Monahan Road (east) through Sutton Coal Yard site, on the approach to the upgraded junction, with new road marking and signage and other necessary associated works.
The realignment of Monahan Rd east and the junction upgrade will require the acquisition of some land within the Sutton Coal Yard site.
Housing development
The entire project has been designed to take into account the proposed strategic housing development which has been granted planning on the former Ford site.
Glenveagh has secured planning for some 1,000 apartments in 12 blocks ranging from four to 14 storeys.
While it has been granted planning for 10 years, it has previously said that a number of issues must be resolved first before it can give a start date.
The extension of Monahan Road is one of the objectives of the Cork City Development Plan 2015-2021, and it is set to be one of the key arterial routes in the south docks region.
One of the key objectives of the project is to provide key transport infrastructure that will act as the catalyst for the early development of the adjoining lands.
The Part 8 plans are available for inspection on the council’s online consultation portal until August 20.
The closing date for submissions on the planning process is September 3 at which point the submissions will be considered, a report will be prepared for consideration by council, which will, in turn, vote on whether to approve planning or not.
