The tendering process for the construction of nearly €1 billion-worth of roads projects across the State will begin soon, the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, said today.
Ten projects - including by-passes at Dundalk, Loughrea and Naas which are subject to confirmation of compulsory purchase orders - were announced by the Minister at the opening of newest stretch of the M1 motorway this afternoon.
The Minister said he hoped work on the projects, with an estimated cost of more than €900 million, would begin next year.
A new "rolling, multi-annual framework" for funding national road projects is also close to agreement between the departments of Transport and Finance; and a variety of measures to control the cost of future projects is also being pursued, Mr Brennan said.
"It is imperative that we exploit every opportunity to contain the costs of major transport infrastructure projects. This will require, on the part of all involved in the programme, the continuing development of cost estimation and control systems; and permanent and contract arrangements," Mr Brennan said.
The investment in road schemes under the National Development Plan is now becoming more visible. Construction of the 40 km Kilcock-Kinnegad motorway on the Dublin-Galway Road is underway as is work on the Monasterevin By-Pass. And the newest stretch of the M1 means the road from Whitehall in Dublin to south of Dundalk is, at 72 km, the longest motorway in the State.
The new projects open for tender are:
- M1 - Dundalk - Border
- N2 - Ashbourne by-pass
- N4 - Sligo relief road
- N4 - McNeads Bridge - Kinnegad
- N6 - Loughrea by-pass
- N7 - Naas road widening
- N15 - Ballyshannon/Bundoran by-pass
- N18 - Ennis bypass
- N21 - Tralee to Ballycarthy
- N25 - Kinsale Road interchange