A £13 million bypass of Clonmel, Co Tipperary, was opened yesterday by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey. The 9km bypass, which includes two bridges and five roundabouts, was planned in the early 1980s and built in three stages.
The first stage is from Condon's crossroads to Cashel Road, the second involved improvements to the existing road between Cashel Road and Glenpatrick and the third comprised a new stretch of road between Glenpatrick and Two-Mile-Bridge.
The first bridge, at Glenconnor, carries local traffic over the new relief road and the second bridge takes the Limerick-Waterford railway line above the road at Knockauncourt.
The project was co-financed by the European Cohesion Fund.
Mr Liam Connellan, chairman of the National Roads Authority, said that the bypass would be welcomed by the residents of Clonmel, the largest urban centre along the N24. "For years the town has suffered the intrusion of large traffic volumes in the area", he said.
The relief road is expected to improve travel times between the west coast and the port of Rosslare. Part of the Western Strategic Corridor, the N24 is one of four corridors on which the development strategy for national primary roads is focused under the Operational Programme for Transport 1994-99. The 500km corridor provides access from the north-west, west and midwest to Waterford, Rosslare and Cork, via the N20.
