What’s the latest on the #RoyalCanalGreenway ?

Last month, I requested from Dublin City Council a detailed report outlining the progress being made on delivering the Royal Canal Greenway.

As you know I spent much of the 2014 Council term, pressurising the Council and the National Transport Authority to get work started on the delivery of the Greenway as quickly as possible. Since then, construction work has started on Phase 2, linking Guild Street along the Canal parallel to Seville Place up to the North Strand.

Phase 2: Upper Sheriff Street to North Strand
This stretch of the Greenway is 0.7km long. Works at the junction of Sheriff Street/Guild Street/Seville Place are now complete. Construction of the cycle path and footpath is well advanced with earthworks and capping substantially complete and the Contractor is currently placing the bituminous materials. The approach ramp to the viaduct bridge is complete. The viaduct bridge was fitted on site in December 2019 and placement of guardrails to the bridge and approach ramp is ongoing. All major works to the canal are complete with some minor repair works to the canal wall outstanding. The following works will be completed in the coming weeks – viewing plaza entrance from Sheriff Street, pedestrian guard rail, rendering to boundary wall, public lighting, CCTV and landscaping. At the March meeting of the Dublin Central Area Committee, officials indicated that the scheduled completion timeline of late June 2020.

Phase 3: North Strand to Phibsborough
By mid March, the project team were in the process of finalising the contract documents and drawings with the aim of tendering the contract for the construction of Royal Canal Phase 3 before the end of that month. Where that work currently strands will be shared with me at the May meeting of the Dublin Central Committee. Hopefully, armed with that information, I anticipate being able to share with you an expected start date for construction of the 2.1km route, but I suspect that we will now be looking at early 2021 before major construction works get underway. I understand that it will take approximately 2 years to complete.

Phase 4: Cross Guns Bridge, Phibsborough to Longford Bridge, Ashtown
The Executive Engineer, Sustainable Mobility & Projects with Dublin City Council informed me that the detailed design of sub-phase 4A (bus and cycle contra-flow and signalised towpath crossing of Broombridge Road at Broome Bridge) has been completed. By mid-March, the scheme was out to tender for construction, with the intention of construction work commencing in late April 2020. Obviously, this is another timeline that has been lost due to the Covid19 emergency.

Detailed design of sub-phase 4B (main towpath upgrade) is nearing completion, with land acquisition agreements to be reached for small parcels of land. It had been anticipated that construction would commence in Q4 2020, with likely completion in Q4 2021 with dredging of the canal being required for some sections.

Progression of the design for sub-phases 4C (remainder of towpath upgrade, including 7th Lock/Liffey Junction railway underpass upgrade) andsub-phase 4D (Tolka Valley Park – Phoenix Park greenway link via Ashtown) is contingent on a number of factors including option selection for bypassing of the Ashtown level crossing, which in turn is contingent on the decisions to be made in relation to the Dart Expansion Project. A timeline for the completion of these sub-phases is not possible at present. However, it is hoped that all of 4.3km Phase 4 of the Royal Canal Greenway will be completed by the end of 2023.

I hope to be in a position to provide further updates on the revised timelines for the completion of each phase of the Royal Canal Greenway in the coming days and when that information is available to me, I’ll share it here.

If you have any questions or queries about any of the details provided above, please drop me an email at RayMcAdam@gmail.com.