THE TRALEE bypass project is on schedule to start in 2011, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has told Kerry County Council.
The project has an estimated total cost of more than €100 million and is one of the biggest planned road projects ever undertaken for Kerry.
A council spokesperson yesterday said the Department of Transport had listed the road in recent communication with the council late last week. Independent TD for Kerry South Jackie Healy-Rae said he is to raise the issue today with Taoiseach Brian Cowen in a private meeting to discuss his support for the forthcoming budget.
Last month the opening of tenders for the preliminary works for design and archaeological works to the bypass was approved by the council. Land has already been purchased.
Although it is outside his constituency, the bypass has been prioritised in recent weeks by Mr Healy-Rae in return for his support for the budget
He said the bypass for Tralee had not been in his original agreement with the Government. The Castleisland bypass had been, and had been secured and is now open.
However, Mr Healy-Rae had come to believe the Tralee route road was vital for the economic future of the county.
He said he had been persuaded of this by Rory Doyle of Pharmadel, an Irish based pharmaceutical company which plans to attract various drug research projects to Tralee.
The TD said he had already pleaded the case for the bypass with the NRA and with Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan three weeks ago.
Mr Healy-Rae said Mr Cowen had spoken by phone to him on Thursday evening while he was on the train home to Kerry and had requested a meeting to discuss his support for the budget.
“It [the bypass for Tralee] will be the first thing I will mention to him,” Mr Healy-Rae said.
The Independent TD issued a statement last Monday saying the events of the previous 10 days had “totally undermined” whatever confidence he had in the Government.
Mr Healy-Rae said he took particular issue with “spin and lies”.
However, the Kerry South TD kept open his position on the budget, saying if it was fair and reasonable, he could support it.
In his original agreement in 2007, Mr Healy-Rae had listed the provision of a new hospital for Kenmare. This is in train.
The completed Tralee bypass, linking a number of national primary and national secondary routes around the town, will include 13.5km of roadway, 8km of which will be dual carriage. It was costed at €137 million in 2007, but is now expected to be lower because of a reduction in costs.