New
bridge may not open for four years
The new bridge and entrance road into Connolly Hospital built at a cost
of €6m will be completed at the end of this month. However Community
Voice has learned that the new bridge which will allow direct
access into the hospital from the N3 is unlikely to be opened for up
to four years!
The matter was raised at a recent meeting of Fingal County Council’s
area committee by Cllr. Mags Murray following concerns expressed by
the manager and staff of the hospital about staff access to the hospital
after the opening of the new bridge.
However it has now transpired that the bridge will not now open until
such time as upgrading work on the M50 including the new “spaghetti
junction” type interchange with the N3 is completed.
However according to Michael Lorigan, the council’s director of
services “it was a condition of the planning permission for the
new hospital that a new entrance onto Scott’s roundabout be built
to stop traffic using Mill Road and Blanchardstown Village. However
it was also a condition of that planning permission that the junction
of the completed bridge and access with the public road shall not open
to traffic until such date as is determined by the council and the National
Roads Authority (NRA)”.
Speaking at the meeting Mr. Lorigan said “let’s be quite
clear – it would not be realistic to open the bridge until after
the opening of the M50 upgrade.” Community Voice
understands that this it could be 2012 before this upgrade is completed.
Defending the delay in allowing the new entrance to open, Mr. Lorigan
said “I accept that it is unusual to have a major piece of infrastructure
provided but not used. However you have seen for yourself what can happen
to capital allocations if you don’t take them up when they are
available. In four years time, if we had a different economic climate
we could still be looking for the funding to do the job.”
Speaking to Community Voice, Shay Smith, manager of
Connolly Hospital explained how the hospital had been unaware of this
situation until recently. “In anticipation of the bridge being
completed, we prepared a traffic management plan which we presented
to the council a while ago. We proposed to leave the Snugborough Road
open for staff and ambulance access only. We also proposed the closure
of the Mill Road entrance to the hospital.”
“We prepared our traffic management plan based on the opening
of the new entrance road and bridge. We were very concerned when the
council showed us plans for the M50 upgrade and interchange which is
not going to be completed until at least 2010. It would now be impossible
for us to use the new bridge and entrance as it would be opening onto
a massive building site,” he said.
While they accept that it will not now be realistic to open the new
bridge, hospital management are extremely disappointed by this turn
of events. According to Mr. Smith “the new bridge is a symbol
for us in terms of the hospital and its profile in the community. It
will open us up and make us more visible in the wider area. It is a
major element in where we see ourselves in terms of local infrastructure
and being part of the wider community.”
However,
he continued “we don’t want to open the bridge at the end
of the month and then have to close it or restrict it again as soon
as the M50 work starts. That would leave everyone in an even worse situation.”
Meanwhile discussions are ongoing between the council and hospital management
about the eventual routing of traffic when the bridge is finally opened.
“My whole concern is how to get patients and staff into the hospital
in a timely fashion” said Mr. Smith. “A lot of our staff
live in areas such as Clonee, Dunboyne and Ratoath. For these staff
to use the N3 is a nightmare and most already come in to the hospital
by the Snugborough Road.”
Michael Lorigan accepts the merit in this argument. “There is
nothing to prevent the HSE coming back to the council for permission
to provide limited access via Mill Lane or Snugborough Road,”
he said. “There could be some level of access to specific car
parks for staff and this could be looked at. However the question of
controlled movement of staff or others through the grounds of the hospital
was never considered at the planning stage or was never raised up to
now as an issue by the HSE.
“We will consider submissions by the HSE to mitigate some of the
staff concerns but let’s be clear on one thing, the Snugborough
Road access will be closed to the general public once the new bridge
is functioning,” he stressed.
As to when that will be he is less clear, “this will necessitate
consultation with the consortium constructing the M50 upgrade scheme,”
he said, “however, I would anticipate that initially there may
be some limited access into the hospital from the N3.”
Community Voice, Media
House, Church Avenue, Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15
Phone +353 1 822 1432 - Fax +353 1 640 4444
info@communityvoice.ie
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