The contract for the final stage of the M1/N1 motorway linking Dublin to the Border was signed by the National Roads Authority and the Celtic Roads Group (Dundalk) Ltd yesterday.
The 11-km Dundalk Western Bypass will open in late 2006 and take 30 minutes off travelling times.
Celtic Roads will also have responsibility for operating the PPP under which the existing Drogheda bypass was built, and will operate the tolls on that section of the motorway.
The consortium includes Dragados Concesiones de Infraestructuras SA (a Spanish firm) and Edmund Nuttall Ltd (UK).
At present the M1 ends south of Dundalk. The western bypass will end at Ballymascanlon, north of Dundalk, and the remainder of the road, which will be of dual carriageway standard, will end at the Border.
The contract for the western bypass also includes maintaining the motorway from the start of the Drogheda bypass to where the M1 currently terminates. It includes building 7 km of new link roads, 12 over/under bridges and a major railway overbridge.
The consortium will take over the operation of the toll plazas adjacent to Drogheda within three months and upgrade the plazas with electronic toll collection.