An Bord Pleanála has approved the construction of two major road schemes, costing about €650 million, in the mid-west.
The 38km Nenagh to Limerick section of the Dublin to Limerick dual carriageway will be built for about €290 million. The board has also approved the building of the second phase of the Limerick Southern Ring Road - a southern bypass of the city including a tunnel under the Shannon - to be built at an estimated cost of €350 million.
The National Roads Authority said the Nenagh to Limerick section of the N7 would use the existing 10km single carriageway section of the Nenagh bypass, as opposed to building a separate new dual carriageway bypass of the city.
According to the NRA, the single carriageway road was planned before the Government decision to provide motorway or high-quality dual carriageway roads between Dublin and the State's provincial cities.
Yesterday's announcement by the NRA that it had secured approval for both schemes means only the Castletown to Nenagh section of the N7 remains to get statutory approval. The Limerick Southern Ring route - essentially an extension of the N7 into Co Clare - will effectively form a dual carriageway link between Dublin and Shannon airports.
The existing 10km section of the single carriageway, eastern bypass of Nenagh will be incorporated into the new dual carriageway. Nenagh has in recent years been bypassed to the east and the west, although both bypasses are single carriageways. The NRA said the single carriageway bypass on the N7 would be upgraded to a dual carriageway, even though this means significant work on several bridges.
Where the main road goes over the local roads, bridges will be widened. Leaving Limerick at Annacotty, the new dual carriageway will curve eastwards across the existing N7 and the railway at Lisnagry. From there it runs northeast to a new interchange at Birdhill.
The route then passes north of Ballynahinch before crossing the Kilmastulla River and the railway line again and heading through Carraigtogher and linking in with the southwestern end of the existing Nenagh bypass.
