State runs out of cash for N17

Date Published: 10-Apr-2008

PRIVATE developers will now be asked to construct a large section of the proposed new N17 — and this is the only realistic possibility of getting the project off the ground within the next few years.

The Department of Transport cannot fund the construction of the road between Galway and Claremorris — including the Tuam bypass — from current resources.

And now they are going cap in hand to the private sector who they hope can begin work on the road by 2010 in the hope of having it completed three years later. It is the first indication that funding for major capital roads projects is drying up and now developers are being asked to come to the rescue.

In return, the successful tender will be paid for the project over a 25 year period but will make substantial profits over that extended period. The National Road Authority is expected to announce over the coming days that the N17 from Claremorris to the superjunction at Rathmorrissey near Athenry will be constructed on a public private partnership arrangement.

It means that advertisements will be placed in the national Press over the coming months seeking expressions of interest in constructing the 52 kilometre stretch of road — estimated to cost in the region of €250 million.

It will also include the construction of the Tuam bypass, which has been dogged by delays for the past four years and has resulted in …………….