A 16KM section of the M7, south of the Nenagh bypass, was opened yesterday in advance of anticipated high volumes of bank holiday weekend traffic.
The move extends motorway standard road from Nenagh to Birdhill in Co Tipperary, and removes about 10,000 vehicles a day from a high collision location around Yellow Bridge.
The 16km is part of an overall 28km Nenagh to Limerick section of the M7 which was to have opened late last year. However, the project ran into difficulty in crossing the Annaholly Bog south of Birdhill in Co Tipperary, where pilings have been sinking.
As efforts continue to find a solution to the problem the National Roads Authority made a surprise announcement that it was opening the completed 16km of the road yesterday afternoon.
Barriers on a further 10km of the Nenagh bypass have also been removed, extending motorway standard road from Nenagh to Birdhill.
The authority said it expected a solution to the problem at Annaholly Bog would not delay the opening of the entire M7 by the end of the year.
Traffic heading southbound on the M7 will now filter on to the new stretch of motorway from the existing Nenagh bypass, which has recently been widened to two lanes in each direction.
Southbound traffic will rejoin the existing N7 via a roundabout and a slip road just north of the village of Birdhill.
On the northbound journey the route to the motorway from Birdhill will be signposted.
When completed, the full 28km project will link the Limerick Southern Ring Road with the existing Nenagh bypass.
There will be interchanges on the route at Newport Road, Birdhill, Carrigatogher and Thurles. Also included is a single carriageway link to the main road at Birdhill, and the now complete upgrading of 10km of the Nenagh bypass to dual carriageway standard. The contractor is Bothair Hibernian and it is being overseen by engineers RPS Scetaroute JV.
Yesterday’s opening now leaves just two sections of the M7 to be completed by the end of this year. These are a 12km section between Birdhill and the Limerick Southern Ring Road, and a 34km section between Castletown and Nenagh.
The Republic’s motorway network now extends from Galway on the west coast, via Dublin’s M50, to the Border with Northern Ireland. Motorways are almost complete between Dublin and the regional cities of Limerick, Cork and Waterford as well as between Limerick and Galway.
