A new road project, which will link the Rathbeale Rd and the Brackenstown Road, will have consultants appointed to it in Q3 of this year.
The Swords Western Distributor Road which will go from the Brackenstown Rd, west of Swords Manor, and travel north past the new Mooretown development and across the Broadmeadown River to meet the proposed Metrolink Estuary Park and Ride north of Swords.
The plans for the new distributor road were outlined in the South Fingal Transport Study and officials in Fingal say the project is being prioritised.
The Chief Executives report to the last council meeting said:
The consultancy framework is at stage 2 procurement for various Swords & Kinsealy projects with the successful and unsuccess letter
are now being issued. The Swords Western Distributor Road will be one of the early projects to be appointed, target date for the commencement of consultancy services is Q3 2023.
The Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy, published in 2021, detailed the benefits of the scheme:
Swords Western Distributor Road (SWDR)
The proposed SWDR is within the Oldtown and Mooretown development site within the study area, providing
access to the Rathbeale Road from the lands to its north and south respectively. In Oldtown the proposals
include active frontage on to the SWDR, which serves as the main street for the development, and provides
access to the Glenn Ellan Road. In Mooretown the SWDR alignment is a tree lined two lane local access road with
a 2-way cycle track and forms the western edge of the new area. The SWDR Extension is a continuation of this
alignment to the south, with a connection to the Brackenstown Road.
The Oldtown Mooretown LAP notes the following about the SWDR:
▪ The Swords Western Distributor Road will form a spine for access to both Oldtown and Mooretown.
▪ Existing routes which will interface with the SWDR are Rathbeale Road and Glen Ellan Road Extension,
both of which will be redesigned to slow movement of traffic to protect the amenity and safety of
pedestrians and cyclists in the new urban areas.
▪ The Swords Western Distributor Road will form the western boundary of development at Mooretown
and will be internal to Oldtown.
▪ The road shall also comprise a safe and attractive pedestrian/cyclist green corridor to facilitate access
to the Ward River Valley Park, thereby ensuring connectivity to the wider green network of open spaces.
▪ The Swords Western Distributor Road could also act as a relief road to improve the local road network
for Swords and as a distributor road for the Oldtown-Mooretown lands.
▪ The SWDR may facilitate north-south connectivity to the west of the town, thereby removing traffic
from Main Street, R132 and M1.
The South Fingal Transport Study considered this last point and concluded that the SWDR would provide
additional resilience to the local road network in the context of diverting traffic from Main Street, in addition to
providing direct access to the MetroLink Park and Ride at Estuary.
Cllr Ian Carey said:
“This new distributor road will be an important addition to Swords for a number of reasons. It will create a direct cycling link to the Metrolink station for much of the town, it will create an effective boundary to promote compact growth, it will allow for a cell structure to be put in place and aid traffic management and active travel/public transport priority in Swords. It is also worth noting how it will remove traffic from Main Street which will pave the way for full pedestrianisation. It also presents an opportunity to develop the green necklace of open spaces around the town, which the Swords Woodland Association and Cllr Joe Newman have been pushing for a long time.”
