Motorway opening trims half an hour off Galway to Shannon journey

Date Published: 10-Nov-2010

The Crusheen to Gort motorway will be open to the public from around 3pm tomorrow (Friday), shaving up to a half hour off the journey between the city and Shannon Airport and taking up to 10,000 vehicles per day out of the Gort.

And the good news for road users in the north of the county is that construction work on the €500m motorway between Gort and Tuam is now due to begin in the Spring with contracts to be signed by the end of the year.

In the meantime, the ribbon will be cut on the €200m Crusheen to Gort stretch by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey at the official opening at noon tomorrow at Gortavoher, eight months ahead of schedule.

Michael Timmins, senior engineer in the National Roads Design Office (NRDO) in Galway, said the motorway would cut the journey time between Ballybrit on the eastern edge of the city to Shannon Airport by 20 minutes in off-peak times and up to 30 minutes at peak times.

It would take up to 80% of the traffic out of Gort, with between 8,000 and 10,000 vehicles per day now diverted onto the new road.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.