Cullen gives Waterford bypass the green light

CONSTRUCTION will begin next year on both the Waterford City bypass and the long-awaited Waterford to Dublin route, Transport Minister Martin Cullen has confirmed.

The National Roads Authority has been instructed to complete tendering for the city bypass by the end of 2005. Within the past fortnight, the NRA was ordered to resubmit plans for the route to an Bord Pleanála to allow for a Viking settlement at Woodstown to be preserved.

Last night, a spokesperson for An Bord Pleanála said that tendering has begun for the €400 million route. At the moment, the timescale for the route will not be delayed. But, if An Bord Pleanála orders a new Environmental Impact Statement has to be done, it will prolong the process.