An Bord Pleanála has given the go-ahead for the compulsory purchase of land for a bypass around Castleisland on the main Kerry to Dublin route.
The 5.4km of new, single-carriage road will link the already improved N21 from Abbeyfeale in Co Limerick - it has been completed 20 weeks ahead of schedule - and the N21 from Tralee with the N23 from Kerry airport and Killarney.
Some 85 acres are being purchased by the county council from 24 landowners. Work is expected to begin this year.
The route west of Castleisland will involve a bridge over the river Maine and two roundabouts. It has already been approved by the NRA, and is estimated to cost €29 million.
However, county engineer Tom Curran has warned that smaller road schemes away from the major Dublin routes were falling by the wayside as most resources were targeted at the expensive projects.
He was responding to reports from councillors that a ring road around Tralee, Co Kerry, was now off the agenda.