This article is from page 32 of the 2007-08-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
BUSINESS leaders in Ennis have welcomed the opening of the latest phase of the Ennis N18 bypass and called for a swift completion of the project.
On Friday, Clare County Council announced the opening of section two of the bypass. It is anticipated that up to 10,000 cars per day will use the road, significantly reducing traffic congestion in the town. The Skm wide single carriageway, which forms part of the N85 western relief road, runs from Clareabbey to Clau- reen and opens a new bypass to the south and west of the County Capi- re
In a statement, CEO of Ennis Chamber of Commerce Rita MclIner-
ney said, “the bypass has had a posi- tive impact on the town and Ennis Chamber welcomes the opening of the Limerick Road to Kilrush Road and Kilrush Road to Lahinch Road portion of the Western Relief Section of the Ennis N18 Bypass. The East- ern Section of the N18 Bypass has been a huge success since its opening in January in the movement of traffic as part of the Atlantic Road Network and the reduction of congestion in Ennis Town.”
She added, “The opening of these links is particularly welcome in ad- vance of the Tour of Ireland Stage End arriving in Ennis on Friday, Au- gust 24.
“Furthermore, Ennis Chamber 1s urging the completion of the Ennis Interchange on the Eastern Section
to the Limerick Road portion of the Western Relief Section as well as the Tulla Road link as soon as possible”.
According to Paul Moroney, Project Resident Engineer, Clare County Council, “The completion of this section of the Ennis Bypass fin- ishes another part of this large road project. The remaining section will see the completion of the whole of the works and is currently scheduled for mid-autumn of this year.”
He continued, ““This section of the bypass ties in to the old N18 at the Limerick road in the vicinity of Clar- eabbey. The roundabout at this tie in is called Clareabbey roundabout. The new bypass will provide relief to traffic wanting to bypass Ennis to the south and west of the town. It will in particular provide welcome relief to
traffic wanting to travel to Kilrush, Kilkee, Ennistymon and Lahinch and to the people of west Clare.”
“Roundabout junctions are pro- vided at the Rocky road and Kilrush road, at Beech Park and on the exist- ing N85, at Claureen. New bridges are provided over the N68 Kilrush qO}-(6 MHOC MN OSM OAM GNEALUNKC oI eOO)IE cluded Mr Moroney.
The Ennis Bypass project is funded by the Irish Government and part-fi- nanced by the European Union under the National Development Plan and Transport 21.
The scheme is co-financed at 85 per cent by the cohesion fund of the Eu- ropean Union. This project is help- ing to reduce economic and social disparities among the citizens of the Union.