A new 22-kilometre stretch of road has been completed some nine months ahead of schedule.

Built at a cost of €207m, the new M18 motorway will significantly enhance the road infrastructure of the region and save approximately 20 minutes during peak commuting times between Ennis and Galway.

The development of this link was part of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 and will provide a safe efficient high-speed route linking Gort in Co Galway to the Ennis Bypass in Co. Clare.

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The scheme also represents the completion of another section of the Atlantic Corridor, which is the strategic route linking Letterkenny to Waterford, through Sligo, Galway, Limerick and Cork.

The upgrading of this route is also an objective of the Roads Sub-Programme of the National Development Plan 2007-2013 and of the transport investment framework 'Transport 21'.

The scheme is constructed to motorway standard and includes 14 new bridges, 12km of new access tracks and the realignment of 10km of side roads.

The scheme will also remove 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles per day from the town of Gort, Co Galway, and the village of Crusheen, Co Clare therefore improve the quality of life for residents and business alike.

Additionally, as a result of bypassing Gort and Crusheen the new motorway will remove two major traffic bottlenecks between Ennis and Galway.

(BmcC/GK)