A €230 million project to widen the road between the Dublin/Kildare border and the Naas bypass was officially begun today.
The 14.2-kilometre project involves the installation of a third lane in both directions of the N7 dual carriageway from Rathcoole to the existing Naas bypass.
The first sod was turned today by the Minster for Transport, Mr Brennan, but work on the project will not begin in earnest for another few months.
The upgrade is expected to result in road works on the busy route for the next two years. The National Roads Authority (NRA) says the disruption is regretable but necessary, and the scheme will be completed by 2006.
The Department of Transport says completion of the project, combined with the opening later this year of the Monasterevin bypass, will deliver 86 kilometres of motorway without traffic lights from outside Dublin to past Portlaoise.