STRETCH of road opened yesterday would save motorists travelling between Dublin and Belfast up to 30 minutes at peak times, it was stated at official ceremonies outside Dundalk.
The new Tain Bridge on the road will relieve 50 per cent of the traffic pressure from the old "Big Bridge" in the town, which has normally accommodated 21,000 vehicles daily.
Mr Stephen Burns, chairman off Dundalk Urban District Council also attended the ceremony to mark the completion of Stages III and IV of Dundalk's new £9 million inner relief road.
He was speaking at the ceremony to mark the completion of Stages III and IV of Dundalk's new £9 million inner relief road.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, who performed the opening ceremony, said: "This is the realisation of the dream for the people of the town." The newly-opened section stretches from the town's docks to a new roundabout at the Newry Road on the north side.
The project, funded by Dundalk Urban District Council, the Department of the Environment and the National Roads Authority, was begun in the late 1980s.