Longford councillors have approved a part 8 planning application for the realignment of Cathedral Junction in Longford town. Jacobs Engineering have amended the plans for the new junction to take into account the developments taking place as part of the restoration of St Mel’s Cathedral which it set to open this Christmas. Councillors refused to approve the realignment plans last month due to concerns that the increased traffic volume and the new 116 space car park at the new Cathedral had not been taken into consideration. The consultants, Jacobs Engineering, who are employed by the National Roads Authority to come up with a feasible design for a safe junction presented an amended version recently. That took into account the entrance to the Cathedral from the Dublin road side and the new car park which will be on the grounds of St Mel’s college. The new junction will see the closure of the north entrance to the current car-park in front of the Cathedral which will only be accessible from the Dublin Road. The junction will also be signalised with traffic lights allowing what many local councillors felt was a safer crossing mechanism for pedestrians who currently rely on a zebra crossing. The planning process will now proceed as normal but any work is unlikely to start before the official opening of the Cathedral on the 17th of May next year.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 09:21:14 +0000