Thurles Bypass Halted

Seriously, isn’t Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar really fast off the mark, or “On the Ball,” as we say in Thurles.

Fair dues Leo, you took full advantage of the fact that our three TD’s, not to mention our powerless Local and County Councillors were frolicking, armed with their sand buckets and spades, on the beach, when you ordered the National Roads Authority (NRA) to stop work on all major new road projects, because of spending cutbacks. (Click here to view Independent newspaper report.)

As one leading Politician said to me “You take your eye of the mark for five minutes and that Leo is in wielding the ould spending cutback axe. Faith it would not have happened, only I was trying to activate my Dail fob key at the time, when he struck.”

Fine Gael Sponsors New Thurles Tourism Postcards

Of the 45 road projects being shelved, 32 of these are national primary and 13 are national secondary, with projects shelved to include Clonmel and Thurles bypasses. Does this mean that there will be huge redundancies among members of the NRA board?

Against a background of graffiti, forgotten overflowing litter bins (Attached to pole 0904.), daily traffic chaos and failed EU funded festivals, Thurles bypass is now to be shelved, after 10 years of failed political promises.  Thurles.Info are unable to confirm if the €880,000 bicycle tourism corridor, planned from Limerick to Nenagh and recently lauded by Labour TD Alan Kelly, (His personal contribution to job creation.) has also been cancelled. I hope not since, one Bed and Breakfast reports that they had seven cyclists, stay over night last year. (The idiots had been reading their iPhones upside down and headed east instead of west.)

Here is hoping that the early medieval bridge built by the Norman Butlers in the 12th century can continue to take the traffic strain. True for the Tourism Brochure ‘Lonely Planet Ireland,’  I quote: “Thurles ( Durlas) is a large market town 22km north of Cashel, which was founded by the Butlers in the 13th. Century. Little of note has been built there since and the town square is little more than an ugly car park.”

Based on current plans, no new roads project will be commenced in 2012, 2013 or 2014, so I hope those bridge building Normans were better at future planning, than our currently holidaying TDs.

In a poll taken by this Website in June 2011, only 3% of those who voted, actually believed County Council Officials and Politicians, who claimed that the Thurles bypass would be open by Christmas. This Poll at least gives me some hope for the future of Tipperary.

In the meantime the Fine Gael Party have issued new Tourism Postcards for Thurles, (See Above) funded by Leader Grants . The cards entitled “Don’t You Wish You Were Somewhere Else.” will go on sale shortly, in case any tourists should accidentally stray in this general direction and get trapped in traffic.