City bypass ‘potentially disastrous’ for NUIG

Dr Jim Browne said that two of the routes in particular would be “very dangerous” – because they would cut through the sports pitches or run parallel to the Quincentenary Bridge.

“If one of the routes that are presently envisaged is chosen, it would be very dangerous for the university because we have spent 40 years building the campus here.

“We’ve accumulated a big land bank and with the agreement of the City Council, we’ve planned everything, done it all properly.

“We’ve accommodated a bridge and a route which came through out campus in the past [Quincentenary Bridge]. They’re now putting a second one – either through our pitches or in parallel to the existing one – and both [options] would be quite disastrous for us because they would break the campus up.

“They’d remove out sports facilities; they’d make us very unattractive for students, both native and international; less attractive for staff. They’d make our lives very difficult with students moving back and forth across the campus. That potentially is disastrous for us.

“We think the Council should build a bypass, not a through-road through the city, which is what they’re doing. We think it’s a very poor decision and we’ve made that very clear.

“You’ve got to hope that good sense will prevail and we’ll be able to retain out campus and a unified campus which is necessary for our success,” said Dr Browne.