The New Ross Bypass opened to public traffic on 30 January 2020.
The 15 km dual-carriageway on the N25 allows traffic to bypass New Ross in County Wexford.
Before the bypass opened, traffic frequently formed tailbacks on the Kilkenny side of New Ross Bridge on the N25, which connects Cork City and Rosslare Europort. Delays often added 20 to 60 minutes to journeys.
The bypass cost roughly €230 million and the project created an estimated 300 jobs during construction. Wexford County Council tendered it separately from the Enniscorthy Bypass.
Map
The bypass stretches from Glenmore in County Kilkenny to the main N30 primary road between New Ross and Enniscorthy. Along the way, it connects with several primary and regional roads via roundabouts and slip roads.
The construction also included a new three-tower extradosed bridge crossing the River Barrow roughly 6 km south of New Ross Bridge. The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, an extradosed cable-stayed design, facilitates four lanes of traffic. At 887 metres, it is Ireland’s longest bridge. It surpasses the bridge in Wexford Town by approximately 300 meters.
History
In December 2003, County Manager Eddie Breen expressed hope that the project could be brought “back on track” after the National Roads Authority stated there was no money for it until 2005. By October 2004, Breen told council members that it was “back on the drawing board” and should be completed by 2010. Wexford County Council announced in September 2005 that it would begin preliminary ground investigation work.
In May 2006, reports stated that the new bridge would be the longest in Ireland, spanning almost 1 km across the River Barrow, with work expected to start in late 2007 or 2008. An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the project in December 2008.
Don Curtin from the National Roads Programme assured local newspapers in April 2009 that work would begin in the first quarter of 2011 at the latest. That same month, transport researcher and campaigner Brian Guckian called for the project to be scrapped, suggesting that other options such as the reopening of the railway through New Ross should be explored.
Following a High Court challenge against the proposed route, Breen expressed his concerns for its fate in December 2009. The High Court threw out a bid by Dublin-based environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman to stop the bypass in March 2010. Breen stated in November 2010 that the preferred bidder for the bypass would be announced in March 2011.
Officials announced in August 2011 that it had been shelved due to a lack of funds. Figures revealed in April 2012 that over €11 million had been spent on land acquisition. The Irish Government announced in July 2012 that the project was going ahead as part of a stimulus investment for County Wexford.
Although most people welcomed the project and expected it to reduce traffic congestion, some expressed concerns that the bypass would harm the local economy of New Ross. According to critics, a decrease in traffic would lead to fewer shoppers visiting the town. Others countered these concerns by stating that less traffic congestion on The Quay may encourage more people to visit the town centre.
In December 2014, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe told local reporters that work should begin in 2015 or 2016. Minister of State Paul Kehoe stated that the bypass would be toll-free. Wexford County Council named the BAM Iridium Consortium as the preferred tenderer in February 2015.
Reports in June 2015 indicated that construction was delayed as the contract had not yet been awarded. Ibec stated in July 2015 that the bypass was vital to ensure continued investment in County Wexford. Eamonn Hore, Director of Services with Wexford County Council’s Roads Department, told the Wexford People newspaper in September 2015 that the project was due to begin in November 2015. A spokesperson for the council told Wexford Hub in January 2016: “The signing of the contract to construct the N25 New Ross By Pass and Second River Crossing will take place within the next 4 weeks and construction of the scheme will start later this year.”
Wexford County Council awarded the contract in January 2016 and construction began later that year. Officials originally expected the project to open in spring 2019, but construction complexities delayed it by more than six months. During summer 2019, crumbling concrete was detected in one of the bridge’s supporting piers, causing further delays. Workers completed construction in December 2019 and the bypass officially opened on 29 January 2020.
In June 2020, the construction consortium of Dragados Ireland, BAM Civil, and Dragados SA initiated proceedings in the Commercial Court against the Spanish designers of the bridge, claiming approximately €18.5 million for the cost of remedying alleged design errors. The consortium alleged that the errors made the bridge “significantly more difficult” to build, required substantial re-engineering during construction, and caused a completion delay of some 10 months.