The toll bypass of Fermoy opens in Co Cork today amid assurances from the National Roads Authority that motorists will still have a viable alternative to paying the toll.
The new €295 million motorway is opening nine months ahead of schedule and is expected to reduce by at least 30 minutes the travel time between Dublin and Cork.
The opening is to be performed by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen at 11.30am. The road will open to traffic at noon.
Residents and public representatives in Watergrasshill had expressed concern that the design of the new 17.5km motorway would incorporate the existing Watergrasshill bypass, meaning that traffic avoiding the tolls would have to in future also avoid the Watergrasshill bypass.
There were also fears that those avoiding the tolls would be forced to bring their vehicles through Watergrasshill town itself, which would represent a retrograde step for the town, according to Munster MEP Kathy Sinnott.
While the National Roads Authority has acknowledged the new road layout is somewhat complex, it insisted yesterday that traffic avoiding the toll motorway would still be able to use the Watergrasshill bypass.
"Traffic travelling from Cork to Dublin will flow through the existing Watergrasshill bypass and then be able to leave the motorway before the tolls, and travel along the old road through Fermoy and Rathcormac," said authority spokesman Seán O'Neill. Similarly traffic travelling from the Dublin direction to Cork will be able to leave the M8 before the toll booths and pass through Rathcormac and Fermoy and rejoin the motorway in time to use the Watergrasshill bypass.
Mr O'Neill said confusion may have arisen because of the closure of an existing road running 300 metres from the old Dublin to Cork road, leading to the Watergrasshill bypass. But he said alternative routes would be open and while it would be possible to access Watergrasshill, it would also be possible to go more directly to the bypass.
"On the opening of the new motorway, motorists will continue to have the option of bypassing Watergrasshill and not having to pay a toll," he said.
In addition, a €2 million scheme of traffic calming is also being put in place to discourage through traffic from using Watergrasshill town, he added.
Meanwhile, a proposal from Cork County Council to the National Roads Authority that the first two weeks of use of the Fermoy and Rathcormac bypass would be free has been rejected by the authority. Cork County Council had sought the concession to allow motorists to appreciate the benefit of the new motorway and demonstrate to heavy traffic, in particular, that the toll route could save time, and so money, for hauliers. The toll charges for the new motorway are €1.60 for a car and €2.90 for a coach rising to €4.90 for the largest heavy vehicles.
The roads authority said it "regrettably" had to refuse the offer of free tolls for a trial period as it had contractual obligations to the road builders and toll operators, a consortium of Irish and European companies called Direct Route Ltd.
