The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, T.D. has announced that the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project has been approved by Cabinet today and will now progress to the construction phase.
The project involves the construction of approximately 34km of new single carriageway road that will extend from the western end of the existing N5 Ballaghaderreen Bypass to the townland of Scramoge in County Roscommon, bypassing the towns and villages of Frenchpark, Bellanagare, Tulsk and Strokestown. Provision will also be made for pedestrian and cyclist facilities where the route meets access points to some of the towns along the route.
The estimated total scheme cost of the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project is more than €450million and it will take up to four years to complete. The new estimate for the project has increased due to inflationary pressures alongside rising costs of construction materials and elevated levels of shipping and logistic costs.
The Government remains committed to funding this project due to the road safety concerns surrounding the route. Roughly half of the existing route has a collision rate above the national average for such roads, with significant sections having a rate twice the national average.
Following today’s cabinet approval Minister Eamon Ryan said: “The Ballaghadereen to Scramoge project will replace one of the most treacherous sections of primary road in the country. By completing the missing links in the N5 corridor it will improve access to the west and northwest.
The new route will also make the towns and villages it serves more attractive places to live, work and shop by diverting heavy traffic, trucks and other heavy goods vehicles out of their centres.
Decisions to proceed with large infrastructural projects like this are becoming increasingly difficult. Inflationary pressures are pushing up costs to eye-watering amounts. Against this budget pressure, priority will remain on progressing with the development of by-passes around our major towns and proceeding with the major public transport programmes announced that can transport thousands of people quickly and efficiently, so freeing up our road space, particularly in our towns and cities.”
Minister of State for Transport, Jack Chambers T.D. said: “This scheme, which was approved at Government today, will eliminate sections of the N5 that have had collision rates nearly twice above the national road average. The N5 road scheme which now moves to construction phase will improve safety for all road users including pedestrians and cyclists. Dramatically improving the safety of the N5 corridor, the new route will also benefit road users by improving overall journey times and reduce travel costs”.
