Tree-felling in Marley Park, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, in preparation for part of the construction of the Southern Cross motorway over the next 2 1/2 years, has been completed.
About 200 trees, including saplings, have been felled along the side of College Road which is to be realigned to make way for the motorway.
A spokesman for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said the work had to be done before the start of the route contract. The trees were cut down before the growing season as it would have presented greater difficulties if there had been leaf growth.
The Southern Cross plan provided for cutting a strip about 40 to 50 yards inward along College Road. The spokesman said in terms of Marley Park itself, it was a fairly small encroachment but along the roadway, there was a significant impact.
Last month, a tender for the construction of the penultimate section of Dublin's C-ring motorway, the Southern Cross, was signed by the contractors and officials of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Dublin South County Councils.