The overhaul of the Athlone Relief Road (bypass ) will cost in the region of €7 million and may take up to 40 weeks to complete.
The facelift of the seven kilometre stretch of dual carriageway will include a new surface to reduce noise levels, the upgrade of safety barriers, tree cutting, and the removal of Eircom, Broadband, and BT connections from the centre to the verges of the road, a task that alone will cost in the region of €1 million.
There are plans to increase the capacity of the off-ramps along the stretch, while the necessity for roundabouts or traffic lights at the Garrycastle, Coosan, and Ballymahon interchanges is also being examined.
Senior engineer with the Westmeath Roads Design Office, Michael Kelly, brought councillors up to speed on plans for the bypass this week. It is hoped work will start in October after a contractor has been secured, with the project set to take anything up to 40 weeks to complete.
For the duration of works, only one interchange will be closed at a time, and two-way traffic flow will be maintained at all times.
The National Roads Authority (NRA ) decided last week that the Athlone Relief Road will be designated dual carriageway rather than motorway, and will retain its current speed limit of 100 kilometres per hour.
The council has promised to liaise with the NRA to improve signage on the bypass, with several councillors calling for signs on either approach to Athlone indicating that there are six separate exits off the bypass for the town. It is also hoped brown signage can be erected to indicate the presence of major tourist attractions.
While welcoming the news that work will start soon, Cllrs Sheila Buckley Byrne and Gabrielle McFadden were anxious that the closure of interchanges would not aversely affect businesses in the town in the run-up to Christmas.
However, Mr Kelly said that because the successful contractor was not known yet it was hard to say at this point what will be closed off and when.
He added: “Works may close down for the Christmas period...but it is in everyone’s interest to get in and done in as short a period as possible in order to minimise disruption. A balance will have to be found.”
There were also calls from councillors for details of the works, timescale, and closures to be published in advance of the commencement of the project.
“You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” said Cllr Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, who added he was delighted that the Minister for Transport had decided not to upgrade the relief road to motorway status.
Director of services Barry Kehoe said it was important to remember that while the work would take some time, the finished result will serve both locals and motorists travelling between Dublin and Galway well.
