No drums, no fireworks, but many sighs of relief marked the return of Galway's city centre to its populace last night as the builders' barriers were removed from the new Eyre "plaza".
Siac Construction Ltd spent much of yesterday leaving the city some two weeks before deadline - but some hours later than the promised early afternoon "release". The company gave a commitment last autumn to complete the project in six months after the original contractors had pulled out.
The total cost for the scheme has yet to be finalised, as Galway City Council is still in legal negotiations with the first contractor, Samuel Kingston Construction (SKC). However, a city council spokesman said a budget of €9.5 million had increased only by €600,000 since Siac was hired.
Fine Gael councillor Pádraig Conneely believes the final bill could be close to €11 million, and says there are major questions to be answered about the project management team.
Ironically, Siac had been one of the original tenderers for the project, which was quoted at €2.5 million when proposed as a "millennium" scheme by former Galway city manager Joe Gavin in 1999. As part of the plan drawn up by Dublin-based landscape architects Mitchell and Associates, the limestone figure of Pádraic Ó Conaire was to be relocated to a "sculpture" garden, mature trees would be removed, the Skeffington Hotel end would be pedestrianised, and "visual clutter" such as public toilets would be replaced as the square was converted into a "series of plazas on a European theme".
The Galway Environmental Alliance was formed to oppose the plan, even holding a 24-hour vigil to highlight its concerns, but the appeals were ignored by the previous city council, which approved the project on June 26th, 2000.
The alliance asked that its alternative be considered, drawn up at no cost by Chelsea Flower Show award-winner Mary Reynolds. The local authority declined, and awarded the contract to SKC of Cork, which had quoted a cost of €6.3 million.
Galway Chamber of Commerce says businesses lost between 20 and 50 per cent of trade during the 25 months of traffic diversions and route closures.
By February 2005, the city council confirmed the cost had reached €9 million. SKC had completed 70 per cent of the work when it quit in the early hours of June 27th last year.
It blamed Galway City Council for failing to control "extraneous difficulties".
City mayor Cllr Brian Walsh described the finished project as "the finest city centre civic space in the country".
City manager Joe McGrath said half the cost would be funded by national sources, and half by the local authority.