Nenagh's Chamber of Commerce boycotted the official opening of the new £31 million bypass yesterday, claiming that the lack of an access road to the town will result in a loss of business and will impede the provision of emergency services.
The bypass was officially opened by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, who said Nenagh would no longer be a bottleneck.
The traditional N7 route intersects with the bypass at both ends of the town of 5,000 people. The problem is there is no access road midway along the section.
The chamber's president, Mr Kevin Costello, pointed out yesterday that by the time motorists looked in their rear view mirror and noticed that they had missed the slip road, it would be all too late. "You are not going to swing back," he said.
The seven-mile bypass will involve a round trip of up to 15 miles for an ambulance if it is called out to an accident, he said. It will also cut off the town from the "lake district" of Lough Derg.
"We would have a certain concern about the business potential to the town if there was a proper intersection off the bypass to allow people exit at the nearest point to the town," he said.
County councillors reacted angrily when he asked them to also boycott the opening, saying that the council, the National Roads Authority and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, had been unwilling to provide the access road.
Cllr Tony McKenna, the council chairman, said the letter was an insult after officials "bent over backwards" to try to resolve the access road problem.