Cullen orders study on Dublin outer ring road

The Minister for Transport today announced details of a €1.4 billion road-building project for this year, which will include a feasibility study for a new Dublin ring road.

Mr Cullen refused to speculate on the possible route of the road, which would run in an arc around the M50.

"An outer ring road will not happen overnight, but now is the time to explore how it could work, the difference it could make and how much it would cost," Mr Cullen said.

Mr Peter Malone of the National Roads Authority, which has been asked to undertake the feasibility study, said it was too early to say when work would begin, how long it would take or how much it would cost to build the new road.

The NRA is planning to upgrade the M50 at a cost of €1 billion. Mr Cullen conceded today that at certain times of the day, the road resembled a car park.

Mr Cullen dismissed a suggestion that it was co-incidental that the new ring road, which would most likely run through Co Kildare and Co Meath, was being announced on the eve of by elections in those two counties. "That never dawned on me," he said.

There are eight projects due for completion this year, including the final phase of the M50 motorway. The Dublin Port Tunnel, which has been built at a cost of €750 million, will also be completed by the end of this year. However, it will not open until early next year due to safety testing, the minister said.

Work on 19 projects totaling around 200 kilometres of new roads is scheduled to begin this year. These include the final phase of the M1, between Dundalk and the Border; the Waterford by-pass; the N4 by-pass of Edeworthstown, Co Longford, and part of the N6 between Athlone and Kinnegad, Co Westmeath.

Mr Cullen also said the NRA had received four tenders for the controversial N3 through Co Meath and two tenders for the Waterford by-pass. Both routes are still pending approval due to archaeological concerns. He said it was hoped work would begin on these roads by the end of the year.

Around €40 million has been earmarked for road safety improvements, including €15 million for fitting median safety barriers.

Mr Malone said a historic agreement had also be signed which would see the first ever joint roads project between the Republic and Northern Ireland. A sod-turning ceremony would take place next Monday for the new road linking Newry and Dundalk. When completed, it would mean motorists would be able to travel by uninterrupted motorway from Newry as far as Dublin Airport, where it would link up with the M50.

The €1.4 billion roads investment is part of the €8 billion announced by Mr Cullen's predecessor, Mr Seamus Brennan, to be spent during 2004 to 2008. The minister said today's announcement was a continuation of the Government's commitment to infrastructural improvements.

"Better roads mean a better future," Mr Cullen said. The Government's ten-year "vision" for the future would greatly improve the transport system, which was "playing catch-up" at the moment.