£4.7bn roads programme is ahead of target

The Republic's ambitious road-building programme is ahead of schedule and can be completed by 2006, the National Roads Authority (NRA) maintained yesterday.

Announcing the results of the first year of the seven-year plan, the NRA chairman, Mr Liam Connellan, said construction activity was 19 per cent ahead of target, and better-than-expected progress had been made in planning and design of new roads.

The NRA is upgrading roads or building new ones between Dublin and Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and the Louth border with Northern Ireland. The programme incorporates a road needs study which in 1998 was forecast as a 21-year programme.

The cost of the programme, which includes maintenance of national roads, is £4.7 billion, which represents a threefold increase on the roads programme for the period 1995 to 1999. The NRA also said it was "greatly encouraged" by interest which had been expressed by foreign firms in constructing the new roads.

Twelve consortia of foreign companies have already expressed serious interest in building the Waterford bypass, while 11 were interested in building the Kilcock-Kinnegad section on the N6.

The authority also announced its 2001 roads programme, which has a budget of £660 million, an increase of 28 per cent on 2000.

When the programme is completed, the NRA expects there will be a reduction in road deaths of approximately 50 per year by the end of 2006.

New roads expected to reach completion in 2001 include: the N4 between Mullingar and McNead's Bridge, and at Rathowen, Co Westmeath, and Boyle to Carrick-on-Shannon; the N9 Grannagh-Waterford road (phase 1B); the N15 Clar-Barnsmore road in Co Donegal; the N17 Knock-Claremorris road (phase 1); the N20 Blackpool, Croom and Patrickswell bypasses; the N21 Ballycarthy-Castleisland road; the N24 at Beary's Cross and the N24 Pilltown-Fiddown; the N25 at Kilmacthomas; the N33 M1 Ardee link; the M50 Southern Cross; the N52 link to Nenagh; the N61 Roscommon-Cooltigue; and the N56 Mountcharles bypass.

New road schemes expected to start this year include the Dublin Port Tunnel; the M1 Lissenhall-Balbriggan motorway; the N2 Carrickmacross bypass; the M4 Celbridge interchange; the N4 Enfield relief road; the N4 Hughestown-Meera, the N4 Sligo relief road; the N5 Strokestown-Longford; the M7 Monasterevin bypass; the N7 Limerick southern ring (phase 1); the N7 parkway, Limerick; the N8 Cashel bypass; the N8 Watergrasshill bypass; the N11 Kilpedder interchange, Co Wicklow; the N11 Ashford-Rathnew bypass; the N15 Banduff-Downes River; the N17 Knock-Claremorris (phase 11); the N18 Ennis bypass; the N22 Ballincollig bypass; the N21 Castleisland-Abbeyfeale; the N25 Cork south ring-Kinsale Road interchange; the N30 Clonroche-Moneytucker; and the M50 south-eastern motorway.