The €37 million Waterford outer ring road was officially opened to traffic yesterday.
The road connects the Williamstown road to the main Waterford-Cork road (N25) at Butlerstown and means traffic can now flow from Waterford Regional Hospital and the nearby residential area to major employment centres on the Cork road.
The dual carriageway will provide access to the planned Waterford city bypass (second river crossing), ultimately allowing traffic to complete a circuit from Grannagh, Co Kilkenny, to Waterford Regional Hospital without entering Waterford city centre.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said yesterday that the opening of the road marked another key part of Waterford city's infrastructure.
"The immediate and longer-term benefits of this route to people's daily lives and the local economy will be incalculable. The completed outer ring road will now prove the artery for development in this part of the city.
"Coupled with wider infrastructural improvements, it means that day-to-day access has vastly improved and the necessary road capacity is there to cater for current and future growth," the Minister said.
Cllr Hilary Quinlan, mayor of Waterford, described the road as a long-awaited and most welcome piece of infrastructure that would make an immense difference to the journeys of workers.
Waterford city manager Con Murray acknowledged the patience and co-operation of landowners and motorists who were inconvenienced by the programme of work.
The road has eight roundabouts and required the construction of two major structures for the Johns river crossing and the Lacken road bridge.
The ring road crosses both the main and secondary roads connecting the city with Tramore, as well as the airport road at Killure and a number of minor roads.
To facilitate construction of the road, 46 hectares of land were purchased. Four route alignments were considered in detail, and the option chosen had a number of distinct benefits, including the removal of a dangerous bend on the old Tramore road and the raising of road levels on the main Waterford-Tramore road to alleviate seasonal flooding.
Approximately 280,000 tonnes of rock were removed and recycled into fill material, filter stone, capping and aggregates for the road surface.