Hearing planned for €187m bypass

An Bord Pleanála has announced that an oral hearing into the proposed €187 million Crusheen-Gort bypass is to be held in Gort later this month.

Already, 75 landowners living along the route of the scheme have lodged objections, while the Department of the Environment has raised concerns over the impact the project could have on a historic ring fort.

The scheme, which involves the construction of 22km of new dual carriageway, will also involve the severance of 342 hectares (845 acres) of farmland along the route. Galway County Council is the lead agency in the scheme and is intending to purchase compulsorily more than 200 hectares (almost 500 acres) of land on 103 farms.

The route is expected to reduce journey times between Galway and Ennis significantly and expand the catchment area of Shannon airport.

The proposal to remove the outer earthworks of a ring fort has already come under fire from folklorist and author Eddie Lenihan. The Department of the Environment has also expressed concern over the proposal.

Mr Lenihan - who led a successful campaign to prevent the destruction of a fairy tree as part of the Newmarket-on-Fergus bypass in 1999 - said: "It is crazy that they are going to destroy part of this ring fort. Have they learned anything? They are the ones charged with protecting our heritage. It doesn't make any sense."

In its submission, the department said that it was "concerned that the significance of impact on the regionally important ring fort which was considered minor in the route selection report has now become a substantial impact at environmental impact statement (EIS) stage and part of the outer earthworks will be removed by the road.

"This issue was highlighted in 2002 when we wrote asking the Galway project archaeologist for details regarding the proposed impact on this monument. In general, the EIS fails to adequately address reasons for impact on archaeological features."

The statement published states that 14,000 vehicles a day now use the route between Crusheen and Gort and the route "fails to cope with the demand of motorists and residents frequently experiencing delays during periods of peak movement".

The environmental impact statement says the route would lead to a reduction in road injuries on the N18.

The hearing will be held at the Lady Gregory Hotel, Gort, Co Galway, from July 25th to August 4th.