Galway County Council

Roads

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Design Process

a) Starting the Design Process

The principal stages in the design of a new road are outlined below and start with a Local Authority identifying the actual need for a new road. This need may be arise from increased traffic flow, reduced capacity, poor road alignment on existing roads, accidents risk etc.

b) Establishing Feasible Route Corridors

One of the first tasks required in the provision of a new route is the establishment of feasible route corridors. Feasible corridors should generally avoid areas of ground unsuitable for road construction. The areas may include poor ground, protected wildlife areas, physical obstructions such as lakes, housing developments etc. In order to establish corridors the consulting engineer will produce a Constraints Map identifying all the constraints to road construction. Feasible corridors should avoid these constraints at the earliest stage.

c) 1st Public Consultation

Public input is an important component in the planning and provision of major roads. Public input is especially important at the early stages of planning when all corridors are at a preliminary design stage. Public input is achieved by way of public consultation sessions. Feasible corridors and the constraints are displayed to the public and feedback is obtained by way of questionnaires.

Public Consultation provides three principal benefits:

The public consultation process consists of an information day held in a suitable number of local venues followed by a period of time - usually a month - when the public can make submissions on the various route corridors shown. During this period drawings of the proposals can be inspected by the public at County Buildings or at local area offices of Galway County Council. All of the submissions received will be fully considered by the consultants and county council as part of the design process. When the consultants have completed the route selection process, as described below, a recommendation on an emerging preferred route will be made to Galway County Council. It is important to note that public consultation is essentially a two way information exchange whereby the public are informed about the current status of the scheme proposal and the local authority benefit from the input of local knowledge into the decision making process. It is not a referendum on the various choices available and the final decision on which route is recommended as the Emerging Preferred Route rests with the consultants. The public consultation process is not a statutory process and there are no legal regulations covering the process.

d) Route Selection - Assessing Route Corridors

After the 1st public consultation has been completed the consulting engineer will assess each route for suitability. The proposed feasible routes must meet certain criteria for suitability.

(i) Engineering

(ii) Environmental

(iii) Economics

(iv) Public Consultation

One of the proposed feasible routes will emerge as a preferred route and this will be presented to Galway County Council for acceptance.

e) Second Public Consultation

One of the proposed routes will be recommended by the consultants as the emerging preferred route (EPR) and this will be presented to Galway County Council for acceptance. This route will be recommended on the basis that it maximises the benefits of the scheme and minimises the adverse impacts. All of the routes will be compared on this basis. The emerging preferred route will be deemed by the consultant to have the maximum benefits in terms of reduced accident rates and reduced journey times and minimum adverse impacts in terms of the criteria outlined above. A second period of public consultation will then be undertaken wherein the EPR will be shown on plans as a road line rather than a route corridor. Submissions will again be invited from the public on the recommended route, and consideration of these submissions may result in further modification to the EPR. The Emerging Preferred Route may be also modified due to ongoing work on site investigation, topographical survey, local severance issues and accommodation works. Following full consideration of these issues, the consultants will then make a recommendation to Galway County Council on a Preferred Route.

f) Preferred Route

After acceptance by the Local Authority preliminary road design will begin solely on the Preferred Route. In addition the Preferred Route becomes protected from development.

g) Preliminary Design

Preliminary Road Design includes the following areas: