Councillor will continue to work for M9 exit ramp to Newbridge

M9 J11/1 doesn't bring traffic to Newbridge or M7 south.

Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer says she will continue to work towards getting official consideration for a new exit ramp off the M9 motorway, to better serve traffic coming from the south-east to access Newbridge and the M7 south, writes Brian Byrne. Her comment follows a less-than-optimistic response to a motion at the recent Kildare-Newbridge MD meeting requesting the council to seek an assessment for the facility by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

The lack of the suggested link means that cars and commercial vehicles coming from the south-east on the M9 have to come through Kilcullen or along the Sunnyhill Road to access Newbridge and the M7 south, with consequences for traffic congestion and road safety. 

The officials' report on her motion noted that Newbridge already has two M7 motorway interchanges (J10 and J12), giving access from both directions. While the Kildare County Development Plan proposes studying improved traffic movements at the M7/M9 interchange (J11/1), this junction does not appear in current national plans or funding lists up to 2030, and the feasibility study for it is not funded.

Cllr O'Dwyer says that other councillors at the meeting voiced their support for her motion, but unfortunately, there was nobody from the Roads Department at the meeting to discuss it.

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