THE €207 MILLION Gort to Crusheen bypass is to be officially opened by Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey on November 12th.
The new route is to form the next phase of the Atlantic Corridor.
The National Roads Authority has denied there was any delay in the next phase of the route from Gort to Tuam, stating that work on the public-private partnership scheme would commence in the new year. The roads authority said in a statement yesterday: “Work on the Gort to Tuam route will commence in the new year, despite rumours to the contrary.”
The opening of the Gort to Crusheen route comes almost a year ahead of schedule as the contract was not due to be completed until August 10th, 2011.
The 23km dual carriageway will bypass the south Galway town of Gort and the Clare village of Crusheen. It follows the opening of the bypass between Ennis and Newmarket-on-Fergus on the M18. Motorists will soon be able to travel from Gort to Dublin by motorway.
The Gort to Tuam route is 58km long and the BAM Balfour Beatty Consortium is expected to begin construction in 2011. It is expected that work on the project will be completed by 2014. It is to connect the M6 motorway east of Oranmore and also provide a bypass of Tuam at the northern end as well as Ardrahan, Kilcolgan and Clarinbridge in the south.
