Fianna Fáil Leader and TD for Cork South Central Micheál Martin has expressed his frustration after it was announced that the Dunkettle Interchange upgrade will be delayed by up to 18 months.
The project is being put out to tender again after Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the original contractor failed to agree costs on the next phase of construction works.
Deputy Martin said, “Today’s announcement by TII is deeply frustrating for commuters across Cork. More than 100,000 cars pass through the Dunkettle junction every day and the fact that this project is going to be delayed yet again raised serious questions about the way this process has been handled.
“This upgrade was promised over five years ago but has been plagued by missed deadlines and increasing costs. The Transport Minister must clarify the degree to which he believes savings will be made as a result of this decision. He must also outline how the project was allowed to reach this sorry stage when red flags had been raised at various stages of the process.
“This project has been the victim of this government’s record of making large scale infrastructure announcements while not having the necessary funding available. Defer and delay has become the order of the day.
“Minister Ross failed to react to the concerns being raised by myself and others. Instead he adopted a hands-off approach and now the project’s end date will be pushed out further. We’re now looking at the end of 2023 before the upgrade works will be completed. That’s another three and a half years of commuter chaos for people in Cork.
“Cork is losing out as a result of this government’s complete mismanagement of capital projects”.
