Work has begun on the Waterford city bypass nearly 40 years after the people of the city had first called for it.
This morning, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen turned the sod to start work on the project, which will also feature a second bridge crossing of the river Suir.
Minister Cullen described the project as the most "significant infrastructure in Waterford ever.
"For years, the lack of a bypass and the absence of a second bridge has held us back - held us back both socially and economically. . . . Now finally, after 40 years of hoping, we have secured the resources and the backing to deliver the infrastructure Waterford and the South East needs," he said.
The project is due to be completed in 2010 and is part of the Government's Transport 21 plan.
It will involve the construction of a bypass extending from west of Kilmeaden to east of Slieverue in Co Kilkenny. The route will cross the river Suir at Grannagh, close to the existing N24/N9 junction to the north west of Waterford.
Overall there will be approximately 23 kilometres of dual carriageway built as well as a 475-metre-long new Suir bridge. There will be new connecting roads linking the bypass to towns in the region and the new Waterford Institute of Technology campus.
