Negotiations on the compulsory purchase of land to pave the way for the construction of Tuam's planned €30 million bypass are set to begin next month.
An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead this week for the Compulsory Purchase Order for the acquisition of lands necessary for the project. There are fears that the millions needed for the five-kilometre route may already have been spent because of delays to the project. Those affected by the CPOs will be notified over the coming weeks and Galway County Council can begin talks on compensation.
The road will be a two-plus-one carriageway, which is one of a number of new pilot road types being developed by the NRA in an effort to radically reduce head-on collisions.
Jack Eising, senior engineer with the NRA Regional office in Galway said the board's decision was "a very important milestone" in the Tuam scheme.
"It's really confirming the scheme and means we can go about putting together the final designs," he explained. The council has set an initial target of having the CPO negotiations completed within six months, unless there are any complications.
Mr Eising could not give any indication as to when construction work might begin on the new road.
Local Cllr Tom Reilly said he believed the CPO process would proceed smoothly. However, the focus for local politicians now is to ensure that the money is secured to get the bypass built.
Cllr Reilly said he and other Fianna Fáil local public representatives would be meeting with Finance Minister Brian Cowen and Transport Minister Martin Cullen as soon as possible to stress the importance of the funding being made available.
Cllr Paul O'Grady (FG) said the sense of urgency about the bypass appeared to have been lost since the beginning of the year.