N9/N10 Phase 4 Contract Signing
April 2008

On Friday 4th April, Kilkenny County Council as Lead Authority and Roadbridge Sisk Joint Venture trading as SRB Civil Engineering Ltd signed a contract for the construction of the N9/N10 Phase 4 Knocktopher to Powerstown High Quality Dual carriageway/Motorway. The total scheme cost is 467 million euro and represents the largest project ever undertaken by Kilkenny County Council.

This contract is the final phase of the Kilcullen to Waterford road (one of five Major Inter Urbans) originally identified in the Government's 2000-2006 National Development Plan, reaffirmed in Transport 21 and the Current National Development Plan, Towards 2016. The completion date for the Contract is 30th November 2010 which is line with the targets set in Transport 21.

The Contract for Phase 4 will tie-in with the N9 Phase 2 Waterford to Knocktopher Road (which is currently in course of construction by Ascon Ltd, Cork) at Sheepstown, Knocktopher and will proceed north to include 41 Km of new Dual Carriageway/Motorway to a tie-in with Phase 1 - Carlow Bypass at Powerstown, south of Carlow (due to open in early Summer of this year), currently under construction by Ascon Ltd, Kill, Co Kildare.

The Scheme will include 3 grade separated junctions -- at Danesfort on the existing N10, at Dunbell (from where the new 6 km.Kilkenny Link Road will start) and at Paulstown (from where a 1.1 km link to the existing N9 and N10 will be constructed), the construction of the Kilkenny and Paulstown links, the realignment of the R699 from the new junction at Sheepstown to Knocktopher Village (including Traffic Calming measures in the village)and realignment of the existing N10 at Danesfort through the new junction there. In addition, there are three signature bridges over the Kings River, the Nore and the Barrow. The project will provide realignment of single carriageway local roads where they intersect with the new road and farm accesses at various locations.