Works ongoing for the Cork city to Youghal cycleways
19:04, 28 Nov 2025Updated 19:28, 28 Nov 2025
The Bailick Road in Midleton
Big active travel upgrades are ploughing on for a major East Cork town – bringing the closure of one busy commuter road for over 6 months.
It’s part of plans to add cycleways across Midleton as works continue on a wider scheme to create a near continuous cycle path from from Cork city to Youghal. Cork County Council confirmed construction to add new pathways and “implement a one-way system” onto Midleton’s Bailick Road, which runs under the N25 dual carriageway. These works will start early next year on Tuesday, January 6th – the road will remain closed from then up until July 24th.
It’s bad news for many commuters in the area who regularly take the Bailick Road to dodge congestion on the Lakeview Roundabout and near the Main Street. We’ve seen plenty of times before just how busy this route can get during rush hour – especially when it’s blocked up by oversized vehicles jammed under a nearby bridge.
The good news though is that these works just another sign of the major active travel projects planned for East Cork. Also in Midleton, further works are underway for another cycle and walkway heading from between the Lakeview Roundabout and Ballinacurra – a lovely amenity for the many new-build homes in the area.
Meanwhile, works are still ongoing for the major project to link Cork city to Youghal through a range of smaller active travel schemes. This full route is broken down into several inter-urban cycleways. Construction on the first leg of the route from Cork city – which will link the centre to Glanmire – is still ongoing. Work recently started on the next phase of this scheme, to connect Hazelwood Road to Dunkettle Road.
Cyclist will then be able to pass through the Dunkettle to Carrigtwohill project, which saw its first 6km stretch open in 2023. Eventually, the project will link to the planned Carrigtwohill to Midleton Inter-urban Cycle Route, before finishing with the popular Midleton Greenway to Youghal, which opened right before Christmas last year.
East Cork is also set to benefit from the government’s wider National Development Plan, where billions will be pumped into a range of much-needed projects. These include new bypasses on the N25 and a new bridge to Cobh to combat the heavy congestion regularly faced by East Cork commuters.