The National Roads Authority (NRA) is considering a proposal to build a "spaghetti junction" in the hope of alleviating pressure on the Red Cow Roundabout in west Dublin.
The NRA has been asked by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to prioritise the proposal, and ireland.comunderstands a decision on the matter will be taken at the next NRA board meeting due to take place in under two week's time.
The spaghetti-junction proposal is one of a number being considered for the roundabout, particularly with regard to the positioning of LUAS tracks.
It is understood that NRA costings have been reduced from €700 million to €300 million following revision of the junction plan.
If accepted and implemented the spaghetti-junction will incorporate triple-level cloverleaf flyovers and looping roads that it is claimed will allow for a freeflow of traffic to and from the junction.
Current plans for the positioning of LUAS tracks have been criticised over fears that, if implemented, they would lead to further congestion, on what is now the busiest roundabout in the country.
Consultant engineers have pointed out that congestion at the junction and a "lack of discipline by motorists" in observing yellow boxes might lead to delays to Luas in crossing its slip roads.
The Minister has asked the NRA to give him a timescale for the progressing of the project and is hoping the upcoming Critical Infrastructure Bill will speed up such projects by reducing by as much as half the three-and-a-half to four years the time it takes to process planning applications.
Referring to the revised costings as "pure fiction", the Green Party has suggested a spaghetti-junction type design will result in cars getting stuck at the next junction, "which the NRA will then have to reconstruct, creating a vicious cycle of road building".