Jobs bonanza as motorway gets green light at long last

At last, the signing of the contracts for the €550 million Gort to Tuam motorway will take place on Monday – with the creation of a possible 2,000 jobs in the process.

A source in the National Roads Authority confirmed that the signing will take place next week after months of delays.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport will arrive in Galway in a few weeks’ time for a sod turning ceremony.

The NRA source told The Connacht Tribune that 500 people will be directly employed in the construction of the 57 kilometres of motorway.

He added that it was a general rule that three times this amount would be employed indirectly, with local quarries and other suppliers of road materials set to reap the rewards.

In recent months there have been a number of ‘false starts’ with regard to the announcement of the signing of the contracts for the motorway.

However, the National Roads Authority has now revealed that the signing of the contracts will take place next week.

See full story in this week’s new-look, compact Connacht Tribune.