€140m bypass set to cut travel times for motorists

TRAVEL times between the country’s two largest cities will receive a welcome reduction today when Transport Minister Martin Cullen opens the long-awaited Monasterevin bypass.

The €140 million bypass is expected to take 16,000 vehicles a day from Monasterevin, a notorious bottleneck for motorists commuting between Dublin and Cork and reduce travel at peak times by up to 30 minutes.

The upgrade will cut out delays and tailbacks which are a constant blight for motorists on the busy route, most noticeably at weekends and when the Curragh hosts an event.

The bypass is another step towards the creation of a full dual carriageway on the Cork/Dublin route and follows the completion of the Cashel bypass last month and the Kildare and Watergrasshill bypasses last year.

“We’re now inching closer to a full dual carriageway/motorway from Dublin to Cork,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said. “We’re nearly there, and are pushing on ahead of schedule under the National Development Plan,” he added.

The new motorway consists of 17.5 kilometres of road linking the M7 Portlaoise bypass in Laois to the M7 Kildare town bypass at Mayfield near Monasterevin. Designed by Cork-based engineers Fehily Timoney Gifford, the project was delivered ahead of schedule and on budget.

The scheme will also benefit motorists travelling from Limerick to Dublin, with a motorway/dual carriageway running from Portlaoise to Naas and onwards to Dundalk.

Chairman of the National Roads Authority Peter Malone has pledged that by 2009, commuters travelling between Cork and Dublin will be able to complete the 250km trip without having to drive through one town or village.

Work has yet to commence on a section of road south of Roscrea and near Mitchelstown.