Gort-Tuam motorway won’t open before 2018

It could be well into 2018 before the Gort to Tuam motorway is built as there is confirmation that the contracts for the €550 million project will not be signed until well into next year.

Despite what some Government TDs are claiming, it has been learned that no contracts have been signed with the consortium appointed to construct the 57 kilometres of motorway.

It is not known what the delay is and the National Roads Authority are blaming the Government for ‘dragging their heels’ on the project.

Galway West TD Noel Grealish (Ind) said that the project has become “a long running joke” with false promises over the years that the motorway would be starting.

Last February the Government announced a €20 million allocation for the scheme and at the time they promised that works would commence before the end of the year – there is now no chance of this happening.

Senior officials within the National Roads Authority have confirmed to The Connacht Tribune that, despite what one Galway TD said last week, that contracts for the project would not be signed this side of Christmas.

In fact they could not say which part of 2014 the contracts would be signed as they were waiting on Government approval to proceed to the next step in the process.

The motorway will be constructed by the consortium known as Direct Route which is made up of a number of Irish companies including Lagan, Roadbridge and Sisk along with international companies including KBR and Strabag. Bank of Scotland is also involved in the consortium.

So far almost €150 million has been spent on the project and this was mainly for the compulsory acquisition of lands along the route which will intersect with the Galway to Dublin motorway.