The Enfield relief road in Co Meath opened at 11.30 a.m. yesterday and by noon traffic volumes in the village had dropped to the levels of 15 years ago.
Traffic increased again east of the village by 5 p.m., however, with three-mile tailbacks. This was about half the usual weekend congestion. AA Roadwatch attributed some of the delays to confusion among westbound drivers. The tailback dispersed by 6 p.m.
The 2.6 km-relief road was built over the last 11 months at a cost of €11 million. It will remove an expected 20,000 vehicles a day from the village, including 3,000 heavy goods vehicles.
The road is expected to reduce journey times to the midlands, west and north west by 30 minutes. Enfield was notorious as one of the worst bottlenecks between Dublin and the regions.
Yesterday's opening, performed by Minister for the Environment Mr Dempsey, was attended by a large number of politicians including the Meath TD and former Taoiseach, Mr Bruton. Mr Bruton said he was delighted the village was being "handed back to the people of Enfield".
The road loops around to the south of Enfield, crossing the Dublin to Sligo railway line, the Enfield to Edenderry Road and the Royal Canal. There is a traffic lights junction at the crossing of the Edenderry Road, which concerned some onlookers yesterday. They feared a new bottleneck.
However, the chief executive of the National Roads Authority (NRA), Mr Michael Tobin, said the signals would be controlled and monitored to ensure minimum disruption. Within minutes of the opening, as Meath County Council hosted a lunch for the dignitaries in the nearby Johnstown House hotel, villagers in Enfield were starting to appreciate the benefits of the new road.
"Look at it, it is like somebody has turned off a tap," said Mr Paul Boyle. "I wouldn't have been able to get across here at this time last Friday or even yesterday. It would have been full of heavy goods vehicles and I would have been taking my life in my hands," he said.
In Careys, auctioneers, Mrs Betty Carey said: "This is great. We are delighted. It will end a lot of rat running around local roads as well as bringing life back to the village."
Mr Eddie Mulligan, who runs a news agency in the Main Street, said traffic flow had started to fall away immediately. Mr Mulligan estimated the reduction had brought traffic volumes back to those of 15 years ago. He said the traders would be happy if the by-pass diverted about 50 per cent of traffic from the village.
Under a scheme worked out with the NRA, those paying tolls on the proposed Kilcock/Enfield/ Kinnegad motorway will be able to leave it and spend up to three hours in Enfield without paying an additional toll to rejoin the motorway.