The N7 Nenagh to Limerick High Quality Dual Carriageway Project -trial testing for Contracts 2 and 3.
2006

The N7 Nenagh to Limerick High Quality Dual Carriageway Project was developed by Limerick County Council in conjunction with North Tipperary County Council and the National Roads Authority. Limerick County Council, by virtue of a Section 85 Agreement under the Local Government Act 2001, was the lead authority and was responsible for the delivery of the scheme. It is proposed that the route will be part of the main link between Dublin and Limerick, an area the National Development Plan 2000-2006 identified as urgently requiring improvements. Funding was provided by Limerick County Council through the National Roads Authority under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. An EIS was conducted by RPS-MCOS-Scetauroute on behalf of Limerick County Council in 2003 for the entire route of the N7.

The overall project was divided into a number of sections; Portlaoise to Castletown; Castletown to Nenagh; Nenagh to Limerick. This work was carried out on the Nenagh to Limerick Section of the route.

The Nenagh to Limerick Section was divided into three contracts. Contract 1 ran from Ch409 to Ch12360 extending from the Newport Junction to Lackenavea (Dunalley). Contract 2 ran from Ch12300 to Ch20300 from the townlands of Lackenavea (Dunalley) to Castlecranna and includes the Birdhill Link, while Contract 3 ran from Ch20300 to Ch36700 from the townlands of Castlecranna to Ballintotty. Judith Carroll and Company undertook Phase 1 Archaeological Testing of both Contract 2 and Contract 3. The fieldwork consisting of linear trial testing with offsets at 20m intervals was carried out simultaneously on both contracts from early January to early March 2006. The combined distance was approximately 24 km between Birdhill and Nenagh, including the existing Nenagh bypass which was to be widened.

The purpose of the archaeological testing was to establish the nature and extent of the archaeological sites along the route and to provide mitigation strategies. In addition to the overall test trenching report, individual preliminary reports for each archaeological site group identified along the route were produced.