A €63 million bypass in Mayo named after former Irish Timesjournalist John Healy has officially opened for traffic.
The John Healy Charlestown road was opened by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey at a ceremony in Charlestown this afternoon.
Mr Healy was one of the best-known Irish journalists of his era and he became a household name through his Backbencher columns in The Irish Times. His book No One Shouted Stop (Death of an Irish Village)famously chronicled life in Charlestown.
The 18km stretch forms part of the N5 National Primary Route between Westport and Longford and scheme extends from the eastern end of the Swinford Bypass to east of the Mayo/Roscommon border.
The road is expected to remove up to 7,000 vehicles each day from Charlestown and Carracastle.
Speaking at the bypass opening today, Mr Dempsey said: "This is the third major project to be completed in the BMW region this year and it will make a significant contribution to the Atlantic Road Corridor."
"It demonstrates the importance that Government places on balanced regional development with continued investment in the BMW region.
"With Knock International Airport just a few miles down the road Charlestown will now more than ever be a better place in which to live and work. I am sure that if John Healy were alive today he would be very of Charlestown and what it has become," he added.