The latest bypass, the £7.2 million N52 link road for Nenagh, was officially opened by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, yesterday. The opening had been held up since October when a Traveller family camped alongside the 4.5-km road.
The link road skirts around the north of the town and allows motorists travelling from Limerick access to Galway via Portumna and to the midlands via Borrisokane.
It is the second major bypass for the town, following the opening of the N7 in July last year. It is now due for an upgrade to a dual carriageway under National Roads Authority plans to build a tolled motorway between Limerick and Nenagh.
The council has taken possession of the N52 since the Traveller family moved on. They had not been included in the council's Traveller accommodation plan. The Irish Traveller Movement claimed in Roscrea last week that Traveller accommodation in north Tipperary was "atrocious".