Project is part of €10m enhancement of Tralee town centre

  

Russell Street and Bridge Street works a continuation of Mall upgrade

The next phase of the multi-million-euro investment in the upgrading of Tralee town centre is to commence early next month. €3.4m is to be invested in a major upgrade and enhancement of Russell Street and Bridge Street which will see a continuation of the shared space and new public realm at the Mall. The statutory notices required to facilitate the works will be published in the coming week.

Funded by Kerry County Council and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), the Tralee Pavements Phase II – ‘Russell Street and Bridge Street’ project will build on the success of Phase I – ‘The Mall’ which involved the development of pedestrian priority ‘shared space’ enabling pedestrians to move more freely while reducing the priority of vehicles. Phase II will see a similar shared space developed along Russell Street and Bridge Street.

Construction work is set to begin on the project in early November 2020 and is scheduled to last approximately 12 months, but the work will take place in different phases, during different periods of street closures, and with every effort being made to minimise disruption for businesses and customers in the area. Local diversions will be in place.

Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Terry O’Brien said: ‘I am really pleased to see the commencement of works at Russell Street and Bridge Street which will greatly complement the major investment in the upgrading of The Mall. Now, more than ever, it is vital that we continue to invest in our town centre for the benefit of local business, customers and visitors to our town. This is very significant investment in the town at a time when local businesses and the local economy need every possible support.’

In order to facilitate works on Russell St and Bridge St, street/road closures will be required.  A road closure requires publication of a statutory notice and a period of four weeks for receipt of objections/submissions. The notice will be published in the coming week. This notice will list all the impacted street and lanes and outlines a 12-month closure period from 2 November 2020 to 31 October 2021. This does not mean, however, that a road closure will be in effect for this entire period. Instead, works will be phased and not all sections of the streets will be closed at the same time. This plan is designed to ensure maximum flexibility for contractors to allow works to be completed as quickly as possible.

Kerry County Council will provide updates on the various phases of the project as it proceeds, and an engineer will be on site to liaise with local businesses on an ongoing basis. Local business owners are being briefed on the project and will be updated as it progresses.

Phase II (Russell/Bridge Street) will see a total of investment of €3.4 m on top of the €3.5m investment of Phase I (The Mall). Meanwhile, the development of the public realm at the Denny Factory site in the Island of Geese which was granted planning approval in July is also due to commence construction in late 2020. This separate €3m project is co-funded by Kerry County Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The three projects together represent a total investment €10m in Tralee Town Centre.

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