A new relief road was opened at Enfield, Co Meath, this morning.
The €11 million road, opened by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government Mr Noel Dempsey this morning, should improve the flow of traffic between Dublin and the Midlands, the West and the Northwest.
The project took two years to complete and will divert most traffic away from the village, which has long suffered congestion. The new road should cut journey times by as much as 30 minutes.
The new road consists of a single 2.5 km carriageway with three major junctions and one minor junction, crossing the Royal Canal and the Dublin-Sligo Railway with a two-span bridge.
The road will eventually form a part of the proposed Dublin-to-Galway motorway.
The road was opened at 10.30 a.m. and was to be open for traffic by 11 a.m.