One of the final remaining sections of the M1 motorway linking Dublin to the Border in Co Louth will be opened to motorists tomorrow.
The Taoiseach will open the road linking Dublin Airport to the southern end of the Balbriggan bypass at 2 p.m. The Minister for Transport Mr Brennan, and Cllr Michael Kennedy, Cathaoirleach of Fingal County Council, will also attend the ceremony.
The 16.3-kilometre stretch of road has been completed three months ahead of schedule at a cost of €230 million. It was co-funded by the Cohesion Fund of the European Union and by the Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006.
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Part of the motorway
to be opened tomorrow |
It is estimated motorists will save 30 minutes at peak times, avoiding the busy airport and roundabout and the series of roundabouts on the old Swords bypass. Motorists travelling from Dublin and Dundalk are expected to save up to one hour on their journeys.
The new road will mean motorists will be able to travel from Whitehall in Dublin to just south of the Border near Dundalk. The 72-kilometre route will become the longest stretch of motorway in the State.
Traffic volumes on the N1, from Balbriggan to the M1/M50 motorways and at the Dublin Airport roundabout, are expected to fall by 40 per cent.
Earlier this month the Drogheda bypass, linking the northern end of the Balbriggan bypass to the Dunleer bypass, opened. The new road includes the Boyne suspension bridge and has a toll for all vehicles.
The move was rejected by the Irish Road Haulage Association, whose members are driving their trucks through Drogheda and Slane to avoid paying the toll.
