One of the State's most notorious bottlenecks is to be significantly eased this week, with the opening of the Enfield relief road in Co Meath.
Westbound traffic tailbacks at Enfield regularly stretch up to six miles at peak times, between the village and Kilcock at the end of the M4 motorway. On Fridays the tailbacks begin at lunchtime and continue until 9 p.m. On Sunday evenings, as traffic returns to the city, the tailbacks build up on the other side of the village.
During these periods traffic funnels through the village to and from the north-west as well as Roscommon, Mayo, Galway, Longford, Westmeath and north Cos Offaly and Clare. Because of the volume gardaí are constantly on point duty in the village.
The new inner relief road, a single-carriageway, east-west loop around Enfield is expected to divert virtually all through traffic away from the village.
At just 1.5 km the road is comparable to the Kinnegad inner relief road in Co Westmeath, which was a huge success in easing congestion there. The route begins east of the village and loops to the south, crossing the Edenderry road and the Dublin-Galway railway line.
The Enfield road cost €11million and is expected to cut about 30 minutes off journeys through the village.
While the road will open up development land south of the village it is envisaged that it will become a southern boundary to its expansion. Ultimately, the road will become an access route to the proposed Kilcock-Enfield-Kinnegad motorway, part of the proposed €1 billion motorway between Dublin and Galway. Toll plazas will connect the relief road to the motorway interchange.
According to AA Roadwatch the bottlenecks at Enfield are among the worst in the State. Delays were longest over the Easter holiday weekend, with roadworks on both side of the village adding to the delays.
A spokesman, Mr Trevor Keegan, said a one-way system was in operation, which exacerbated the usual problems. "The only place which compares to Enfield is Kildare town on the N7. Both are blackspots which cause severe delays every weekend."