First sod turned on Transport 21 scheme

[James Shields]

As usual, roads come first.

First sod turned on Transport 21 scheme

Work got underway today on the first of the Governments 39
"Transport 21" road projects with Transport Minister Martin Cullen
turning the first sod on the new E63m Charlestown Bypass.

The government claims that the new 18km single carriageway between
Charlestown and Carracastle will remove around 7,000 vehicles from
the road each day within the next 22 months.

Speaking in Mayo, Minister Cullen said: "With each new project, we
are cutting journey times, improving traffic flows, making roads
safer and helping business do business. Project by project, towns
like Charlestown and counties like Mayo are becoming better places
to live and better places to do business in."

The Charlestown bypass will be 18km of single carriageway from the
townland of Cloonlara, at the eastern end of the Swinford Bypass
to Currinah on the existing N5 in Co. Roscommon between
Carracastle and Ballaghaderreen.

It will pass 1.6km south of Charlestown and 0.3km south of
Carracastle. The project is expected to deliver travel times
savings to people in the area and tourists and businesses
travelling west



This external information has been sourced from Business World,
a service of Media World Ltd.