The recently laid Carriganore section of the Waterford Greenway
greenway is on course to be
completed in full by Easter of
the coming year. Construction
of The Deise Greenway which
will be named officially as the
Waterford Greenway continues
on a daily basis to deliver for
Waterford the best Greenway in
the Country.
Over the past six months,
clearance of the line has taken
place from Ballinroad, just
outside Dungarvan to the edges
of Waterford City at Bilberry.
In the past number of months,
extensive work has taken place
on the stretch from Bilberry
westwards towards Kilmeaden
with the laying of the path
together with major associated
works including cutting,
infilling, fencing and investigation
of the many small bridges
along the way. Platforms are
also being constructed to allow
access into the many attractions
along the way including
the Mount Congreve Gardens
and the Native Woodland Park
and the Woodstown Viking
Site which hopefully will be
developed in future years into
a tourist attraction being the
oldest known Viking site in the
country.
Waterford & Suir Valley
Railway delayed its yearly
opening to allow work to
proceed in the laying of the
Greenway side by side with
the railway. It has now opened
for the summer operating from
11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday
and on Sunday from 12
noon to 5pm.
Greenway construction will
now shift from the City side
to the west of the Greenway
and return back to the Bilberry
– Kilmeaden section in
early October after the summer
season. Work from Ballinroad
to Durrow section is due to start
imminently. The Dungarvan
to Ballinroad section has been
completed for a number of years
now and is used intensively by
walkers and cyclists both locals
and tourists with a loop down to
the very popular Clonea Strand
and Ballinacourty Lighthouse.
This section, it can be argued
was one of the most spectacular
sections of railway line built
in Ireland and therefore will
become probably the most
spectacular section of Greenway
in the country. It is by a
chance of luck that the Waterford
to Dungarvan railway was
constructed on this stretch of
mainly coastal land. Back in
the 1870’s with the railway
to be constructed from Waterford
into Kilmacthomas, it was
obvious that it would proceed
directly west through the
middle of the county to Dungarvan
but a local landlord by
the name of Humble Nugent
who had been a major advocate
of the construction and necessity
of the railway realised it
would be coming through his
major land holding of quality
land in the middle of the county
and forced the authorities to
send it south to the sea at Ballyvoile
from Kilmacthomas and
then westwards beside the sea
to Dungarvan. Because of this,
Greenway walkers and cyclists
will be able to enjoy beautiful
coastal travel across two causeways
from Dungarvan, across
a massive viaduct in Ballyvoile
which has its own history
after being blown up in the
Civil War in 1922 and rebuilt,
through a quarter of a mile long
tunnel preceded by tropical
type terrain and across another
beautifully constructed stone
viaduct at Durrow and much of
the journey is traversed with the
Atlantic Ocean and the Comeragh
Mountains on either side.
Certainly a spectacular landscape
and experience awaits the
Greenway user.
While the health benefits to
the population are obvious, the
interest in businesses to service
the greenway along the line
has been immense. Already a
number of bicycle hire businesses
have set up websites
ready to hit the ground running,
there has been major expressions
of interest in providing
food outlets, accommodation
and many other services unique
to Greenway usage. It clearly
illustrates that jobs will be
created on the Greenway which
will be most welcome.
On a technical note, a part
8 planning process for a footbridge
over the N25 has been
advertised in all local newspapers.
The N25 cuts the railway
line in three places and it is proposed
that these will be reconnected
for the Greenway by
means of two tunnels under the
N25 and a bridge over it at Kilmacthomas.
Submissions and
observations can be made to
Waterford Council by the 25th
of June.
Easter 2016 will mark a
major commemoration in our
State’s history and for us in
Waterford it will be marked
by the opening of probably the
most impressive Greenway in
the Country.
