Clare Senator Tony Mulcahy has welcomed the news that contracts for the construction of the M17/M18 PPP Gort to Tuam motorway have been signed today by Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar; Minister For Public Expenditure & Reform, Brendan Howlin; and the National Roads Authority (NRA).
The project consists of 57 kilometres of four-lane motorway providing bypasses of Clarinbridge, Claregalway and Tuam.
Senator Mulcahy said the €550 million project will create up to 450 jobs and once open to traffic by late 2018, will "deliver a significant boost to the West of Ireland economy".
"I am delighted to see that work will shortly begin on this project as it has strong potential to stimulate economic growth in the wider region, as well as provide greater access to Shannon Airport for people in the West of Ireland," stated Senator Mulcahy.
He added: “The road scheme forms part of the Atlantic Road Corridor and the Trans-European Road Network, while it is a strategic component of the national primary route network providing a high quality link between Dublin and the western region. It will offer direct benefits for the people of Galway, Clare and Limerick by providing a safer route and by reducing journey times between Limerick City and Galway City by 20 minutes."
“The new scheme will especially make a big difference to those living in Claregalway, Ardrahan, Kilcolgan, Clarinbridge and the other towns and villages that will be bypassed by the road scheme. Once completed, the scheme will further improve connectivity to Shannon Airport for people in Galway and Mayo in particular, which will prove invaluable as the facility develops into the future,” Senator Mulcahy concluded.
