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The Cabinet has awarded the contract for the multi-million dollar upgrade of the Dunkettle exchange in Cork to Sisk contractors.
The decision follows a delay of more than a year in the award of the main construction contract after Sisk and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) failed to agree on a price for this element of the scheme.
The state is understood to have saved up to € 40 million on the construction item after the project was put back on the market for tender.
Sisk, who won the first stage of the contract in 2018, is understood to have been competing for the scheme against BAM.
Transportation Department Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton said the project is vital in delivering an integrated transportation strategy for Cork City and the wider region.
“We look forward to announcing the opening soon of the new pedestrian and bikeway crossing, which was built as part of this project, connecting the Dunkettle interchange to the Little Island train station. Integrating and delivering elements of public transportation, as part of highway improvement projects, is a key component in offering the public an alternative to the automobile, ”he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said of the upgrade: “It is a very significant project, an important one in terms of the modern infrastructure around Cork in terms of facilitating traffic, but also unlocking the potential for major housing construction so that we can get more homes. for people in communities and for couples looking for them. “
TII CEO Peter Walsh said that while the bidding process was challenging, it will deliver a better result for the taxpayer because, according to him, the design and build work is being tendered by two of the major companies in civil engineering construction of Ireland.
The critical junction on the eastern outskirts of Cork City, at the intersection of the M8 / N8 Dublin to Cork road, the N25 Cork to Waterford road and the N40 southern ring road through the Jack Lynch Tunnel, handles about 100,000 vehicles a day.
The upgrade to create a free-flowing exchange is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. It will include the construction of:
- A series of direct road links between the N8, N25 and N40 and connections to the R623 in Little Island and Burys Bridge in Dunkettle;
- A tiered junction arrangement on the existing N25 east of the existing Dunkettle Interchange;
- Four roundabouts: two at the underpass and two in connections with the existing road network;
- Several culverts where the scheme crosses waterways or intertidal areas;
- Pedestrian and cycling facilities.
Some of the new bike and pedestrian facilities, which will help connect the city’s cycle routes with the proposed routes in Glounthaune and Little Island, will open soon.
Cork North West Fine Gael TD Colm Burke said the update will make a big difference for travelers and businesses in the region.
“This project is crucial to the development of the City and County of Cork. The award of this contract is a sign of progress and will help job creation, “he said.
Sisk won the two-stage contract for the upgrade in 2018, but the project was delayed last August when it emerged that TII and Sisk had failed to reach an agreement on projected costs for the main building element.
Although this new bidding process began last August, Sisk continued with the advance works that include the diversion of gas, electricity, telecommunications and water infrastructure, the construction of a new link road to connect the N8 with the highway M8 Cork-Dublin, to include a separate cycle path and a pedestrian path.
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