Work on the State's first two-plus-one motorway, a 16km bypass of Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, got under way yesterday.
The two-plus-one road type consists of two lanes in one direction of travel and one in the opposite direction. The two-lane section, which provides a safer overtaking zone, alternates with a one-lane section at 2km intervals.
The National Roads Authority claims these motorways, which are common in Sweden, are at least 50 per cent safer than single-carriageway roads.
The €115 million Castleblayney bypass, for which Minister for Transport Martin Cullen turned the sod yesterday, is part of the N2, the main arterial route from Dublin and the northwest. The Castleblayney-Clontibret section will serve traffic between the Border area and the east coast.
Mr Cullen said the project was one of a series which would upgrade the N2 to a high-quality regional route. Other road-improvement schemes in the link include the Ashbourne bypass which is nearing completion, the Carrickmacross bypass - which opened in January - and the Monaghan bypass project, which is scheduled to open in 2006.
N2 improvements work in tandem with the M1 to ensure a high level of service for the northeast.
Of the Government's € 34.4 billion investment in Transport 21, Mr Cullen said the objective of the 10-year strategy was "nothing less than a transformation of Ireland's transport network".
