Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

740. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport now that the improvement works to the Athlone bypass have been completed,when he will issue an order incorporating this road into the M6 motorway; if he does not intend to do so, if he will explain the rationale behind not including this in the project design; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31011/14]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As my colleague Minister Varadkar responded to the Deputy in his response to PQ 29480/14 on 8 July 2014, there are no plans to re-designate the Athlone Bypass as part of the M6 motorway at present. The Athlone Bypass has been in place since the 1990's and was designed and built to dual carriageway standard with a 100km per hour speed limit so it predates the upgrade of other sections of the Dublin to Galway route, now the M6.  The final section of the M6 was opened in December 2009.

In 2008, the National Roads Authority (NRA) made an application to my Department for the re-designation of the N6 Athlone Bypass as a motorway.  This application was carefully considered but was ultimately turned down for a variety of reasons.  For example, reclassification would result in pedestrians, cyclists, local traffic and agricultural vehicles being prohibited from using the bypass which includes a bridge over the River Shannon. Given the lack of suitable alternative crossing points over the Shannon this would have the undesirable impact of forcing traffic, including large agricultural vehicles, back into Athlone Town. This of itself would have had significant traffic and road safety implications for all road users in the absence of an alternative crossing point.  An alternative would be to provide a further bridge across the Shannon, but in the current economic climate, this is not feasible.