Preparatory work to get underway on M7/M8 scheme

Preparatory work is set to get underway shortly on the construction of the new M7/M8 motorway scheme around Portlaoise.

The Celtic Roads Group announced today that it had signed the €300m contract for the project with the National Roads Authority.

The scheme involves 41km of dual-carriageway, as well as 18kms of link roads and side roads, and should reduce journey times from Dublin to Cork and Limerick when it is completed in four years' time.

The exact tolls for the road have not yet been set out.

CRG is a consortium involving National Toll Roads, the company that already operates tolls on the East-Link and West-Link roads in Dublin, as well as the Dundalk by-pass.