`Sligo is a destination town in its own right," according to John Fleming, the National Roads Authority engineering inspector who has been dealing with the scheme for the past two years. "Only 15 per cent is through-traffic bypass and that's not enough to justify a bypass."
He denied it was simply a question of drawing a straight line between the end of the Collooney Bypass and the Hughes Bridge over the Garavogue River or that alternatives had not been seriously considered since the scheme was conceived in 1981.
Mr Fleming said Sligo was "heavily congested" at present, with "nightmare" levels of traffic on weekdays between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., because so many people were working or doing business in what has become a booming town over the past few years.
The proposed "inner relief road" would benefit Sligo, he said, adding he would not have approved it otherwise. "One of its advantages will be that someone in the middle of town could get out in just five minutes. Everyone will be able to access it more easily."
To achieve this, and cater for a doubling of traffic volumes in Sligo over the next 20 years, Mr Fleming said "we're going to have to break eggs one way or another", though he denied that it was a case of "building a road and to hell with everybody."
While he sympathised with people "losing their homes", Sligo Corporation had decided on the route 17 years ago and had begun buying up buildings. Some of these were now derelict and he said they would have to be torn down and made safe this year.
The proposed four-lane dual-carriageway would be designed with filter lanes to cater for left and right traffic movements, but he denied it would have jagged edges. "In today's world, with all the concern about the environment, it has to be done properly."
Mr Fleming also said there would be a "drop-off zone" at the gates of Summerhill College, where parents could pull in to leave their children at the school. "We need to make the road safer for them and for everyone in Sligo," he said.
The NRA estimates the cost at £12 million, with aid from the EU coming in the next round of funding after 1999. "It's a lot of money and we have to justify that. If there was a cheaper way of solving the traffic problem, we would certainly be taking it."
According to Mr Fleming, public transport was "not a viable alternative in the Sligo context". But he conceded that one of the NRA's weaknesses is that its responsibility covered only roads. "Public transport is a matter for someone else," he said.
Mr P J Forkan, chairman of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland North-West Region, described it as "good news" that the Sligo Inner Relief Road was now ready to progress, from the end of the existing dual-carriageway "right to the heart of the town". Along with other improvements to the N4, notably the Collooney Bypass and the Curlews Route, Mr Forkan wrote in the spring issue of the Engineers Journal that the north-west was witnessing "an historic episode in road construction".
How Sligo Corporation voted on the N4 Mid-Block Route:
For: Cllr Padhraic Branley (FF), Cllr Seamus Dolan (FF), Cllr Matt Lyons (FG), Cllr Gerry McCanny (Ind), Ald Stephen McDonagh (Lab), Cllr Tony McLoughlin (FG) and Cllr Roddy McGuinn (FF).
Against: Ald Declan Bree TD (Lab), Cllr Sheila Hanley (Ind), Ald Jim McGarry (FG), Ald Sean McManus (SF),and Cllr Vincent Murray (Ind).