Tipperary Cllr Micheal Anglim is confident an Independent Pedestrian Walkway bridge will be funded and constructed in Ardfinnan.
The long running campaign for the infrastructure was boosted last week when Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers intervened and allocated €250,000 for the project to be designed and taken through planning.
The National Transport Authority(NTA) had rejected the proposal in the Spring and warned that An Bord Pleanála would be bound by the same transport and climate policies that led it to reject the proposal.
Cllr Anglim rejected claims that the funding allocation was a political move in advance of the Local Elections – due in 2024.
The project has an estimated construction cost of approximately €3M.
It may be boosted by Tipperary Council’s long term plans for 45 to 50 houses to be constructed at the site of the former Munster Sacks property on the north end of the bridge.
Speaking on Tipp Mid West Radio today, Cllr Anglim says a design team will be appointed shortly and that an application for planning could be ready by the end of the year or in early 2024.
The NTA favours making the current arrangement a permanent solution with traffic lights restricting vehicle flow to one lane at the time and pedestrians having space on the other lane to traverse the River Suir.
