The National Roads Authority (NRA) is considering using stilts to lift the €250 million outer bypass planned for Galway city in order to protect the habitat of a rare grass and avoid delaying the project by up to 10 years.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has applied to the Department of the Environment for permission to designate two large plots of land along the route of the 27-kilometre bypass as national heritage areas.
The NRA has lodged formal objections to the proposed designations, pointing out that there were no prior indications that these designations would be sought when the final route was being selected.
The main object of the applications is to ensure that the habitat of slender cotton grass, a rare and protected species, is not affected during the construction of the bypass. The lands in question are located at Tonabrocky in Rahoon, and an area north of Spiddal.
If the designations are granted by the Department, the entire project could be put back by well over 10 years as a new route would have to be identified.
The bypass project, which involves the construction of a fifth bridge over the River Corrib, has already been the subject of major opposition from residents and landowners affected by the proposed development.
Galway Progressive Democrat TD Mr Noel Grealish said he had met with NRA officials, who informed him that they were considering the possibility of realigning the road slightly and using special stilts to protect the cotton grass.
"This is a vital piece of infrastructure for Galway, and I believe this solution should allow the project to go ahead without much of a delay.
"There's a need for a fifth bridge over the River Corrib as the latest figures show that over 40,000 cars per day now go over the Quincentenary Bridge."
Mr Grealish has rejected criticism of the project by Green Party city councillor Mr Niall Ó Brolchain, who claimed that the bypass would merely open up huge tracts of land on the edge of the city to developers.
He said any delay to the project would be a catastrophe for the city as the Government was committed to funding the route.
He said he had written to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, stating that the future growth of Galway city would be stifled if the bypass was not allowed to proceed.
Meanwhile, residents who live along the route of the proposed bypass are angry that they have been reading about the cotton grass issue in the local press over the past week, but have received no communication about the matter.
One Bushypark woman, who is being forced to leave her home after 40 years to make way for the new road, said her house was supposed to be subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order by the end of the year, but she had not heard from the council or the NRA.
