Vol. 396 No. 4
16 Mr. O'Leary asked the Minister for the Environment the criteria set down for the reclassification of roads to national secondary status; and the way in which the Killarney to Killorglin Road R562 fails to meet the guidelines, having regard to the fact that the Killarney-Fossa portion of this road is now the most heavily trafficked road in Kerry.
The criteria set down for the reclassification of roads to national secondary status are as follows. The roads must be medium length through or semi-through routes; carry medium to heavy volumes of traffic; serve as connecting roads between principal towns; serve medium to large geographical regions; form extensions to the national primary routes; and link national primary routes together to form a homogeneous network.
When the national network was originally designated in 1977, it was decided that the Kerry coastal route N70 via Killorglin, Caherciveen and Kenmare should commence at the county town of Tralee. If as the Deputy suggested the Killarney to Killorglin route were upgraded to national road status, it would not be appropriate to retain the Tralee to Killorglin link as a national road.
