The section of Euroroute One from the Border to Rosslare, one of the biggest road building projects in the history of the State, is set to come together as a powerful addition to the east coast economic corridor.
Euroroute One, Ireland's only designated euroroute, entering at Larne in Co Antrim, will link Belfast and Dublin with all the east coast ports between Larne and Rosslare, Co Wexford. It will also link in with Dublin Airport.
Already road users on the M1 Dublin-Belfast Road can travel on 72 km of continuous motorway between Dundalk and Dublin.
Moving south from Dublin the motorway, or high-grade dual carriageway, will extend through the Glen o' the Downs in October, linking up with the Newtownmountkennedy bypass.
Over the next 18 months further improvements will see the Ashford and Rathnew bypass open while in 2004 work on the Gorey bypass will get under way.
The South Eastern Motorway, the final link in the motorway bypass of Dublin, is now scheduled to open in early 2005.
In all, the necklace will create the Republic's premier inter-urban corridor from Co Wexford to the Border with Northern Ireland, while a western bypass of Dundalk, due to begin construction early next year, will link up with the Newry bypass in Co Down.
Road building programmes are being progressed north of the Border by the North's Department of Regional Development and considerable interest has already been expressed in the shortened travel times between Belfast and Dublin Airport.
The necklace of improved roads is coming together along the corridor at a cost to the Republic of about €1 billion.
Euroroute One compares to the best in Europe and reverses the position of previous years when roads became noticeably poorer when crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic.
According to the chief executive of the National Roads Authority, Mr Michael Tobin: "The motorway/dual carriageway axis along the spine of the east coast is now taking shape. The public-private partnership contract for the Dundalk western bypass should be awarded by year's end, while the Dundalk-Newry cross-Border scheme is being progressed through the statutory approval procedures.
"The M1 feeds on to the M50 Dublin c-ring connecting to the Dublin-Wexford road which has been developed or is currently under construction to motorway/dual carriageway standard to the south of Rathnew. Planning is well advanced to extend the dual carriageway beyond Gorey. Statutory approval procedures should be initiated later this year for the proposed scheme bypassing the Co Wexford town traffic congestion black spot."
In Northern Ireland the improvements are being undertaken by the Roads Service which has plans to complete the A1 route to dual-carriageway standard from the M1 junction at Sprucefield to the Border.
These plans are being carried out in three distinct projects. The first scheme, from Loughbrickland to Beech Hill, is well advanced. The second scheme will see improvements from Beech Hill to Cloghogue roundabout, south of Newry. The third will be the joint cross-Border project with the National Roads Authority and Louth County Council.
