Final link in the Dublin-Cork motorway opens

IT isn’t often that Taoiseach Brian Cowen gets to give out some good news but today he will announce the opening of the final link in the completion of the M8 motorway between Dublin and Cork.

Mr Cowen will attend celebrations in Durrow to mark the official opening of the motorway bypass of the town and the final section linking Cork to Cullahill.

The motorway has been completed four months ahead of schedule in time for the June bank holiday.

It will be followed by the opening of the controversial M3 motorway on June 4.

The 40km, Y-shaped section will take Cork-bound traffic from the Portlaoise bypass to the M8 at Cullahill. It will also take Limerick-bound traffic from the Portlaoise bypass to Castletown, where remaining sections of the M7 Limerick motorway are still under construction.

The route will bypass Abbeyleix, Durrow and Cullahill in Co Laois and is expected to cut the journey time from the M50 in Dublin to the Lee tunnel in Cork by up to 45 minutes.

The journey time Cork to Dublin is now estimated at two and a half hours.

The capital investment is €491 million, comprising both private sector and Exchequer funding.

The state now has more than 700km of completed motorway and the network is currently in the midst of major expansion.

According to Mr Cowen, “improving road infrastructure between and within regions will contribute towards the competitiveness of the area and foster more balanced regional development”.

In particular, he said: “The resulting safer and improved journey times will have a very positive impact on the economy by making the midlands, south-west and mid-west more accessible and attractive for inward foreign investment.”

His comments, in a brochure produced by the National Roads Authority, were echoed by NRA chairman Peter Malone.

He said: “The completion of the M7/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill/Castletown heralds another major achievement for Ireland. The NRA, the Irish Government, local authorities and the construction community have delivered another major national milestone by connecting Cork to Dublin via motorway.

“The opening removes historical bottlenecks and improves road safety on both the Dublin to Limerick route and Dublin to Cork route. Additionally, this completion links two significant centres of commerce and tourism together via motorway that will assist in fostering economic growth for small and large businesses looking to support employment into the future.”

Like all national motorways, the M8 will be tolled. Motorists will pay a total of €184 million a year in tolls when the other motorway schemes are completed at the end of this year.

This is because five of the six motorways will have two tolls, with just the Dublin-Waterford scheme only having a single charge.

Motorists travelling from Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork and the border will be forced to pay two tolls, while commuters using the full length of the new M3 motorway in Meath will also be hit twice.

There will be 11 tolled road schemes open by the end of the year, with the M50 the most lucrative. The NRA expected to take in €80m a year, but drivers paid €96.5m in 2009.

The money collected in tolls will be used to pay back the cost of building the roads and for maintenance.

By late 2010, four major inter-city urban motorways are due to have been completed: the M7 between Dublin and Limerick; the M8 between Dublin and Cork; the M9 between Dublin and Waterford; and the M6 between Dublin and Galway, which is finished.

The NRA estimates the direct economic benefits of the motorway network at €24 billion, based on net present value, an estimate of all benefits now and into the future minus the cost.