THE TRANSPORT MINISTER has announced a massive investment in Ireland’s rural and regional roads network.

The government will spend €300 million improving roads around the country and completing infrastructure projects.

The €294 million allocatio will allow restoration and improvement works be carried, as well as new projects.

The investment programme also allows for a number of improvement projects to go ahead including:

• Lough Atalia Railway Bridge, which involves increasing vehicle headroom under a railway bridge on an access route to Galway city and also Galway Port
• The rehabilitation of Clontarf Bridge in Cork City
• The strategic Coonagh to Knockalisheen project, which will support the regeneration of the Moyross area in Limerick

There is also provision for 175 bridge rehabilitation schemes and 211 low cost safety projects to be carried out.

The main focus of the low cost safety scheme is to improve safety at locations where collisions have taken place.

The main features of the investment programme include:

• €145m for maintenance, improvement and strengthening works
• €41m for surface dressing
• €62.5m for maintenance and strengthening works for which local authorities have discretion in the selection of roads
• €17m for specific and strategic regional and local roads projects
• €7.7m for bridge rehabilitation works
• €5.8m for low cost safety improvement works
• €4.2m for urban block grants
• €11m of miscellaneous grants including, bridge inspections, training, maproad and road safety measures.

The money will go to areas outside Dublin, where the four local authorities are in a position to wholly pay for road works from the local property tax. Other local authorities are contributing towards their works.

Transport Minister Pascal Donohoe said that the money represents an investment in Ireland’s workforce.

“If people are prevented from going about their daily business or from getting to and from work in a timely fashion our economic activity will suffer.”

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