£4.7bn to be spent on national roads to cut journey times

Almost £2 million a day is to be spent on national roads during the seven years of the National Development Plan. A total of £4.7 billion has been allocated to national roads to reduce journey times between major urban centres. Another £1.6 billion is to be spent on other roads.

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said "roads are and will remain the key internal transport mode for business and trade."

Five key corridors have been identified for improvement to motorway or high-grade dual carriageway under the programme. These are Dublin to the Border (M1); Dublin to Galway (N4/ N6); Dublin to Cork (N8); Dublin to Limerick (N7); and Dublin to Waterford (N7/N9).

The national plan also indicates that substantial works will be carried out on "non-key" corridor national routes. These include the N2 route from Dublin via Monaghan and Omagh to Derry; the N4 between Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, and Sligo; the N16, which runs from Sligo to Blacklion, Co Cavan, before crossing the Border to Enniskillen, Dungannon and Larne; and the N3 which goes from Dublin through Belturbet and Enniskillen to Derry.

Other routes to be upgraded, but not necessarily to motorway/ dual carriageway standards, are the western corridor from Sligo through Limerick to Rosslare, Co Wexford; the N17, N18, N24 and N25; and the N5 between Castlebar and Longford as well as the N26 between Ballina and Foxford.

In the south and east the non-key corridor roads to be upgraded include the N11 between Rosslare and Dublin; the N20 between Limerick and Cork; the N21 between Tralee and Limerick; the N22 Tralee via Killarney to Cork; the N28 Cork to Ringaskiddy; and the N30 Enniscorthy to New Ross.

The design standard of the roads is set to allow speeds of up to 94 k.p.h. on dual carriageways and 105 k.p.h. on a motorways.

At a press briefing yesterday, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, revealed that projects likely to be funded by public-private partnerships include new crossings of the rivers Shannon at Limerick and the Suir at Waterford.

National secondary roads, described as "medium-distance roads connecting important towns", are to be developed as part of a strategy aimed at encouraging economic and regional development.

Of particular importance will be links to the strategic corridors, roads serving key ports, airports, tourist areas, and industrial parks. The work will include widening, realignment and reconstruction where necessary, small bypasses, minor inner-relief roads and short-span bridges.

Among the secondary roads identified are: the N56 Letterkenny to Donegal Town route via Dungloe; the N59 Ballisodare to Galway route via Ballina, Westport and Clifden; the N61 Athlone to Boyle route and the N80 Moate to Stradbally; N52 Mullingar to Birr, all in the Border midlands and western region.

In the southern and eastern region the national secondary routes to be improved are the N52 from Birr to Nenagh; the N69 from Tralee via Listowel to Limerick; the N86 from Tralee to Dingle; the N70 Tralee to Kenmare route via Caherciveen; the N71 Killarney to Cork via Bandon and Bantry; the N80 Stradbally to Bunclody; the N81 Tallaght to Blessington; and the N85 Ennistymon to Ennis route.

At the launch of the national plan yesterday, the Taoiseach said the Government, through its special cabinet subcommittee which he chairs, was determined to "ensure delivery" of the infrastructure projects. "Unless these issues are tackled effectively, we could damage our economic prospects and real living standards will not improve," he commented.

While the delivery of industrial land is to be achieved by local authorities "fast-tracking" the planning process through the creation of Strategic Development Zones (SDZ), the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment have acknowledged that SDZs are not appropriate to the creation of new roads.

At the press briefing, Mr Dempsey said the Government was allocating 16 new staff to the National Roads Authority based in Dublin and 130 in regional offices. He said he had gone "as far as any Minister could go in giving local authorities carte blanche in hiring planning staff" and encouraging the hiring of consultancy firms in the private sector. He said that methodology would be changed to allow various aspects of the process to happen concurrently - "in effect, to overlap".