Ring road for Galway city gets green light 27 years after it was first planned

An artist impression of part of the Galway City Ring Road proposal in 2021.  Although plans for an outer ring road were first granted in 2008, they were shelved in 2013. There have been various legal actions and reviews since, and the route has been shortened to 18km. File picture

An Coimisiún Pleanála has granted planning permission for the N6 Galway City Ring Road — 27 years after engineers were first asked to plan it.

The €1bn project — which was initially priced at €600m — will run from the M6 motorway east of the city to west of the village of Bearna and includes a new crossing over the River Corrib.

Although plans for an outer ring road were first granted in 2008, they were shelved in 2013. This was after the European Court of Justice ruled they would have too big an impact on protected natural habitats on what was then a more northerly 21km route.

There have been various legal actions and reviews since, and the route has been shortened to 18km.

A Galway City spokesperson welcomed the news, saying: “Galway County Council and Galway City Council welcome the decision to grant approval.

“The N6 GCRR is a core component of the wider transport solution for Galway. The planning process has been very difficult.” 

Fine Gael senator Seán Kyne said the decision is “a historic day for the people of Galway city, Connemara and the west of Ireland”.

He said: “This approval has been a long time coming and I know how much it means to the thousands of people who sit in gridlock every day while trying to get to work, bring their children to school or make a hospital appointment on time.

“This project will also free up road space in the city centre for public transport and cyclists, while also unlocking the Galway BusConnects programme.”

Public transport

The Mayor of Galway Mike Cubbard gave a qualified welcome to the decision.

He said: “The ring road is one of the largest and most important infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Galway and will bring benefits not just for the city, but for the county and the wider west of Ireland.

“But the project alone will not resolve Galway’s long-standing traffic issues. The ring road is not a silver bullet for our city’s traffic congestion issues.

"While this project will help to remove some traffic from the city and greatly improve connectivity between east Galway and Connemara, we must continue to introduce further measures to encourage a shift towards public transport."

He said traffic congestion and limited public transport options are currently acting as barriers to business investment, retail activity and tourism.

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“It is essential Galway City and County Councils, along with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, engage meaningfully with affected individuals and families, particularly those who may face the loss of property.

"Ensuring they are supported and assisted to relocate as smoothly as possible must be a priority."

Meanwhile, the Galway Commuter Coalition called for the planned Galway Bus Connects Cross-City Link & Dublin Road schemes to be delivered in tandem with the ring road to prevent “the common 'induced demand' phenomenon from choking our city”.

The coalition also called for immediate funding of a study to identify the preferred route of the Galway LUAS to ensure it can be delivered once the ring road is constructed.

"To waste this opportunity to free our city from traffic, give our citizens choice and to limit the environmental impact of the ring road would be catastrophic to Galway's future citizens." said Galway Commuter Coalition chair Lochlann Gallagher.