The Gort to Crusheen M18 bypass will open at noon tomorrow, effectively putting an end to a notorious bottleneck on the old N18. While the new road has been welcomed locally, businesses in Gort will have to wait to see what effect the new route will have on passing trade in the town.
The new road, comprising 22 kilometres of dual carriageway, will take traffic off the existing N18 at Ballinger’s Cross north of Gort, and extends to Craggard, south of the north Clare village of Crusheen, where it joins the recently constructed M18 Ennis bypass.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey will officiate at the opening ceremony, which will take place on the M18 at Gortavoher at 12 noon tomorrow (Friday ), and the road will open to traffic within hours of the ceremony. The €207 million bypass will allow motorists travelling along the route to avoid an accident blackspot at Crusheen, where a sharp bend under the railway bridge was followed by a narrow, winding, section of road.
Gort based county councillor Gerry Finnerty has welcomed the new road, which he said would take traffic away from the accident blackspot at Crusheen and reduce traffic congestion for residents in Lough Cutra and other residential areas along the old N18.
“Basically when you would come into Crusheen there was a 90-degree bend under the bridge,” he said. “That was an accident blackspot. There is a section after that that is quite narrow. There were a number of accidents on that spot.
“People on the existing road in Lough Cutra and other areas will see a massive reduction in traffic,” he added.
Cllr Finnerty welcomed the new road, which he hailed as a “major investment” for the area, but expressed concerns that the removal of traffic from Gort could affect businesses in the town.
“The jury is out on how much damage it would do to Gort,” the Fianna Fáil councillor warned. “No doubt it will have an impact on the town, but we are lucky in Gort in that Gort is nearest to the motorway, whereas other towns on the route are set back from the motorway.”
The opening of the bypass comes just two years after Minister Dempsey signed contracts for the construction of the road. This section of the Atlantic Corridor has been completed several months ahead of schedule — it was initially due for completion in the second quarter of 2011 — though some realignment and upgrading works have yet to be completed on the interconnecting local road network.
Work on the 58km Gort to Tuam section of the M18 is due to commence early next year, and the road is due to be completed in 2014. This section of the route will connect to the M6 east of Oranmore and will include bypasses of Ardrahan, Kilcolgan, Clarinbridge, and Tuam. The road will also bypass Claregalway, where heavy traffic has turned the village into one of the worst bottlenecks in the west
