Funding for an examination of the case for the building of a long-awaited bypass of traffic-choked Claregalway village has been granted by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII ).
Galway West Independent TD Noel Grealish told The Advertiser last evening that he had received the news from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII ) in reply to a Parliamentary Question he had tabled to the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan.
TII confirmed that, following a funding application made by Galway County Council in relation to the Claregalway Relief Road, “funding is being made available for the production of a Phase 0 Strategic Assessment Report to set out the issues and identify a range of potential solutions in line with the National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI ) and government policy.”
Deputy Grealish said this was a welcome first step, in a process which means that TII will carry out a full assessment of the need for such a relief road.
“It’s a significant step, as it’s the first time that TII have acknowledged that there is a need to look at the traffic situation in Claregalway.
“It was always my view that the M17-M18 wasn’t going to solve the traffic problem in Claregalway and this has been borne out since the motorway was opened almost six years ago.
“According to the TII’s own traffic data, the number of cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles coming through Claregalway village has only reduced by less than 13% since the motorway opened,” he confirmed.
“So far this year, the average number of vehicles travelling through the village on weekdays is 19,296 every day,” he said.
Deputy Grealish recently raised the issue with the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, who has a preference for building bypasses of towns and villages.
Cllr. Jim Cuddy has also welcomed this announcement, saying that he constantly raised this in the Council chamber and recently secured unanimous support of all Galway county councillors to request that TII progress this project.
