An exciting new pilot project has been launched to lay a low-noise road surface in Limerick.

Funded by Limerick City and County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, this innovative scheme will see a new surface laid along an 8km stretch of the M7 motorway between J28 Castletroy and J30 Rosbrien.

The new surface will be a low road noise surface and follows a major pilot study by Limerick City and County Council assessing the benefits to health by implementing noise reducing interventions, particularly near Monaleen.

The study for the identified Monaleen Noise Hot Spot began at the end of 2019 and involved a lengthy process of noise monitoring, noise modelling and the assessment of those results by the Council.

In recognition of the work completed by the Council on this matter, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is working in collaboration to fund this pilot project by bringing forward a scheduled lifecycle maintenance intervention for a section of the M7.

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The change of road surface to a low-noise road surface will not eliminate road noise for communities living near the M7 but it should have a positive impact on their long-term health.

The new surface will be a Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) surface with chips incorporated into the body of the material as opposed to the older Hot Rolled Asphalt (HRA) where chips are rolled into asphalt mix when hot. This SMA gives a smoother and quieter ride quality but maintains required surface texture for safety purposes.

The resurfacing works are expected to commence in late July/ early August this year for completion by late September/ early October.

All works related to this resurfacing project will take place at night on a phased approach to protect workers and minimise traffic disruption.

The roads impacted will be fully operational each morning and only one side of the motorway will be closed at a time.

This phasing of the night-time closures is to minimise disruption and is subject to securing necessary temporary road closures and temporary road works speed limits.

Simon Jennings, Senior Executive Scientist with Limerick City and County Council said: "The pilot project should have a positive impact on the health of communities living besides the M7 in Limerick. The Council acknowledges the support of TII and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and looks forward to continuing to work collaboratively with them on the project."

This project is supported by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and will provide a model for other Local Authorities to follow and inform national policy in the area.