A new €90 million roadway, part of the main Cork-Tralee road, and including two link roads around Killarney, could be in place within seven years, senior engineers in Kerry County Council have said.
The engineers in the council and national road design office have ruled out upgrading the existing road. This is partly because of the large number of developments and private entrances that have been given planning permission by the council in recent years.
Improving the existing road, which carries 9,000 vehicles a day, would also interfere with Brennan's Glen, a candidate Special Area of Consideration.
The new N22 route between Farranfore and Killarney would involve an entirely new route and, it is hoped, only a limited number of demolitions of existing houses.
Preliminary design work is now to be undertaken to determine the extent of the land needed, and a compulsory purchase order is to be prepared.
The route option now on display does not cross major archaeological monuments. However, archaeologists say only a tiny number of the monuments may have been recorded in the first instance.