N25 Waterford Bypass, Republic of Ireland

As part of the continuing upgrade of Ireland's road infrastructure, the N25 bypass of Waterford City, which was first announced in a series of pilot projects in 1999, got underway in April 2006.

The project includes a cable-stay bridge (approximately 475m) crossing over the River Suir in the vicinity of Grannagh, close to the location of the existing N24/N9 Junction to the north-west of Waterford City.

The bypass commences in the vicinity of Kilmeaden to the west of the city, crosses the River Suir at Grannagh and ties in with the existing N25 to the east of Slieverue Village. This includes a new connection, known as the Western Link, which connects the bypass to the industrial areas south-west of the city and links the N9 and N24 to the Grannagh Interchange.

The construction includes approximately 23km of dual carriageway and 14km of single carriageway. The €530m project, which is key to the Irish Government’s Transport 21 plan, is scheduled for completion in 2010.

VIKING DISCOVERY

The tender process for the project was suspended in 2004 by the Department of Environment Heritage & Local Government (DOEHLG), following the discovery of significant archaeological finds known as the ‘Woodstown Viking Site’. This site was a defended riverside settlement, with associated industrial activity. Artefacts and radiocarbon dating placed the site within the early Medieval period. The Norsemen occupying the site possibly used an existing settlement of native Irish origin.

The site was discovered during the course of pre-contract archaeological testing undertaken on the scheme. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government issued archaeological directions for the Woodstown site on 11 May 2005. The Minister directed that the archaeological site was to be preserved and this required a revised alignment for a section of the route.

PPP CONTRACT

The road is being constructed under a public private partnership agreement; the PPP contract (worth €300m) was awarded by the National Roads Authority in April 2006 to Celtic Roads Group (Waterford) Ltd, a consortium which consists of Dragados (Spain), NTR plc, Royal BAM (a subsidiary of Koninklijke BAM Groep NV) and Ascon (Irish civil engineering company). The design of the road and associated structures was carried out by ARUP, Eptisa, PH McCarthy and Carlos Fernandez Casado SL.

The design, build, finance and operation contract is expected to take 52 months and after this the winning consortium will operate and maintain the road for the remainder of the 30-year concession.

The cable-stayed bridge across the River Suir is expected to open by 2009. The road will be operated as a toll road and this will involve a full range of payment schemes including toll plaza’s and electronic tag methods.

There are a total of 60 new structures in the scheme. Interested relevant local authorities include Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Kilkenny County Council.

PROJECT HISTORY

The project has been on the cards for the past 40 years and has been sought several times to reduce congestion in the city quay area and to reduce dependency on the existing Rice Bridge, which opened in 1984 and now caters for over 40,000 vehicles per day.

Funding was initially announced in June 1999, but a protracted planning process, and then the Woodstown viking site discovery, delayed the start.The scheme will now make it easier to plan properly for development on the North Quays and Frank Cassin Wharf sites as well as improving the quality-of-life for local residents, commuters and visitors.

FINANCE

The N25 Waterford Bypass PPP motorway project reached financial closure on 21 April 2006. Norton Rose advised the Mandated Lead Arrangers, Spanish banks Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. and Banco Santander Central Hispano S.A. and the European Investment Bank (EIB) over €230m of debt financing for the project.

The concessionaire, Celtic Roads Group (Waterford) Limited (sponsored by Dragados S.A., Royal BAM Group N.V. and NTR plc) has responsibility for the design, construction, financing and operation and maintenance of the toll motorway.