Kerry County Council has commenced the tender process for the construction of an 8km stretch of the South Kerry Greenway.
The council, with the support of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), is developing the 27km greenway between Glenbeigh and Cahersiveen.
Permission was originally sought for a 31km route to include Renard, but the An Bord Pleanála decided to omit two sections of the scheme when it gave the project the green light in November 2020.
Tender
The greenway route has been split up into several construction packages with Kerry County Council undertaking the construction of some of the works under direct labour.
The first construction tender will include the most complex and challenging areas of the project located principally between Mountain Stage and Kells Post Office.
This section of the South Kerry Greenway contains a number of bridge structures and tunnels of historical and cultural significance.
The tender will include all the works necessary to complete the section including design, environmental management, drainage, pavement, fencing, landscaping, slope stablisation and the construction of a retaining wall.
Kerry County Council has now opened a pre-qualification phase where contractors seek to satisfy the criteria to then apply for the tender which is due to be published before the summer.
“The greenway route traverses or is in close proximity to several Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Areas (SPA).
“The project is subject to strict environmental controls in accordance with the plans, particulars and conditions associated with the project consents.
“Environmental management will form a key part of the successful execution of this project,” the notice published by the council said.
The local authority stressed the importance of creating and managing “a suitable receiving environment for the Kerry Slug in the area affected by the proposed greenway”.
South Kerry Greenway
Some advance works on the section are currently being completed including site clearance and temporary fencing.
Candidates that are pre-qualified and shortlisted on the basis of their responses to this first stagepre-qualification may then be invited to participate in the second stage tender.
The council said that the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender.
Although the final cost of constructing this section of the greenway is unknown, the tender documents prepared by the council state that the estimated value of the contract is €20 million, excluding VAT.
It is understood that a contractor will be appointed during the summer with works expected to begin in the third quarter of this year.
Kerry County Council previously confirmed to Agriland that it spent around €4.5 million to progress the construction of the South Kerry Greenway in 2023.