The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has been criticised for delays in sanctioning the Dundrum and Wyckham bypasses in South Co Dublin.
The Fine Gael spokeswoman on Dublin Traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell, TD, said traffic through the south Dublin suburbs "has ground to a standstill", while householders and the business community "despair at the Minister's inactivity on the issue."
A public inquiry into the Dundrum and Wyckham bypasses was held in Dun Laoghaire town hall in December, 1996, following which a report was submitted to the Minister for his approval or amendment.
At the time the Wyckham and Dundrum by-passes were described as a major relief route for traffic in the Dundrum, Sandy ford and Stillorgan areas. The bypasses were also designed to act as feeder routes for the Southern Cross motorway, work on which has already begun.
The proposed scheme involved an upgrading and realignment of the Ballinteer Road and its connection to the Sandyford Road through a by-pass at Wyckham. A spur from this road is envisaged running behind the Crazy Prices supermarket, crossing the Ballinteer Road at Dundrum Castle and travelling behind the Dundrum shopping centre, parallel to the Main Street, to a new four-lane Taney junction.
The area has been an infamous bottleneck for traffic for many years and the deferral of the proposed Luas system has killed off hopes of a reduction in traffic, at least for the foreseeable future. "It is now even more important that the Minister for the Environment sanction these roads as traffic in the area is getting worse on a daily basis," said Ms Mitchell.
Mr John Guckian, senior administrative officer with DunLaoghaire-Rathdown County Council, said the council's road department was anxious that the scheme progressed, "particularly because the roads need to be in place for the Southern Cross route/south-eastern motorway."
The delay is also likely to affect the cost of the scheme which in 1996 was put at £20 million: £15 million for the Dundrum by-pass and £5 million for Wyckham. Some £12 million of the Dundrum funds was for land acquisition. It is expected that this land will now be significantly more expensive.