The Royal Canal is to be reopened to within three kilometres of the Shannon by this summer - but boaters will have to wait until summer 2008 to make the complete journey, Waterways Ireland said yesterday.
The inland waterways authority said work to raise Benagh Bridge, a Bord Na Móna railway bridge east of Clondara, Co Longford, would be completed in a matter of weeks.
The work leaves just one further bridge, a low-level road bridge between Benagh and Clondara Harbour where the Royal Canal meets the Shannon.
This final bridge is due to be replaced by Longford County Council over the coming year, reopening navigation on the Royal Canal from Spencer Dock in Dublin to Clondara.
The canal loops around Dublin's north inner city in a mirror image of its rival, the Grand Canal, and runs 145 kilometres (90 miles) through counties Dublin, Meath, Westmeath and Longford. It originally reached the Shannon at Clondara in 1817 after 27 years of construction.
Waterways Ireland said the reopening would provide a boost for tourism in the midlands.
The Royal Canal is already navigable between Dublin's Liffey at Spencer Dock and Benagh Bridge thanks to a programme of restoration supported by Government, the Royal Canal Amenity Group and Waterways Ireland.
