A €750 million project to add an extra lane each way to Dublin's M50 motorway is not an immediate priority for the Government, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said yesterday.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) has been working on the plan for the past two years, but Mr Brennan said he hadn't studied any proposals yet.
"I know it's on the agenda somewhere. The National Roads Authority, I know, are considering it. But it's not an immediate prospect. It's early days yet."
In 2001, the NRA began a consultation process to examine the possibility of adding extra lanes to the motorway between the Dublin Airport junction and Sandyford. It also looked at plans to "significantly improve" key intersections such as the Red Cow roundabout and the Galway exit at Palmerstown. Designs are being drawn up for the plan, which would involve the use of the central median to facilitate the third lane. An Environmental Impact Statement is also at an advanced stage.
"Funding is the critical consideration," said Mr Michael Egan, the NRA spokesman, yesterday.
The authority has an allocation of €1.2 billion this year, so a project of €750 million would have a serious impact on funding, he said.
With more than 20 major road schemes in the planning stages, it would all depend on whether the project was prioritised. If it got the immediate go-ahead, it could be complete within five years, Mr Egan said.
However, the project and accompanying disruption could face opposition from some of the shopping centres, industrial units and businesses that have sprung up along the route.
On Monday, Mr Tony McClafferty, managing director of National Toll Roads, said the M50 was at "crisis capacity" and would get worse with the coming of Luas and the Dublin Port Tunnel. He called for "real political will" to prioritise the €750 million plan.
The West Link toll bridge has been blamed for some of the M50's worst tailbacks, but Mr McClafferty said inadequate junctions and too few lanes were the main problems.
