Motorists passing through Claregalway in Co Galway tomorrow will be asked to support a petition calling on the Government and the county council to start work immediately on a bypass of the village.
Long traffic jams in Claregalway have frustrated motorists who have been lobbying local public representatives to get a bypass built.
Some 27,000 cars a day are estimated to pass through the village on the N17, and it is predicted that this will increase annually by 6 per cent over coming years.
The organisers of tomorrow's petition say their efforts should not disrupt traffic flow.
A meeting will take place within the next few weeks between officials of the National Roads Authority (NRA) and TDs and senators from Co Galway to discuss when the bypass will be started.
The politicians are hoping to put pressure on the NRA to approve the project as soon as possible.
There was general disappointment when the former minister for transport, Mr Brennan, recently visited the village and said that it could be five years before a bypass was built. Meanwhile, the residents and businesspeople of Claregalway are organising their own action campaign.
Local resident Ms Madeline Flanagan said it was hoped that this would lead to sustained pressure to have the bypass built.
She called on members of the public to co-operate with their petition which will be sent immediately to the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, and to Galway County Council.
"It is very annoying to see new ring roads opened up in other towns around the country when Claregalway is now regarded as the worst bottleneck in Ireland," she said.
West Galway TD Mr Noel Grealish (PD) has called for all politicians attending the meeting with the National Roads Authority to take a united stand.
"We are looking for a road, similar to what is provided in Enfield and Kinnegad, to simply take the traffic away from the village.
"This meeting will ultimately decide how we stand and this is why we have to go into it as a unified group," Mr Grealish said.
