A ceremony has been held to mark the official opening of the new Hole in the Wall Road extension in Fingal.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh was joined by Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien and Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland to open the new €12 million route on Friday, 10 December.

The new connecting road and upgraded junction, on the border between Fingal and Dublin City, provides a direct link through to Drumnigh Road from Balgriffin and allows better access to Mayne Rd which runs to the coastline at Portmarnock and the Baldoyle to Portmarnock Greenway. This will also help ease congestion in the area, as more people move to Fingal where new residential developments provide easy access to the city along with a relaxed, modern lifestyle with beaches and large parks nearby. 

This road extension represents Fingal's third Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) project under the Rebuilding Ireland programme having already opened the Donabate Distributor Road and Rathbeale Road Upgrade.

Speaking at the opening, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Seána Ó Rodaigh said: "There is much to celebrate about today's opening. We have worked hard to ensure we have not only been able to improve safety, travel times, local access and connectivity for all road users, but importantly that the project helps underpin our ambitions to meet existing and future housing needs in the area.

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"Fingal has committed nearly €400m towards progressing plans for more houses over the next three years alone, so it is crucial that we have the right supporting infrastructure like this in place in order for us to be able to deliver housing for those most in need in the community."

As part of the Hole in the Wall extension, a new bridge was built over the River Mayne which forms part of the administrative border between Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. To help boost Active Travel in the area, a new pedestrian and cycle path was also installed beneath the bridge and along the river to connect to pathways provided by others east and west of the bridge. 

Minister O'Brien commented: "I am delighted to be part of this momentous occasion. My Department provided significant funding of €4.7m through the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) for the construction of the road. The aim of LIHAF is to fund the provision of essential infrastructure to enable residentially zoned lands to be developed. 

"The opening of the brand-new Hole in the Wall Road extension will be of immense benefit to the people of Fingal and will provide for further residential construction, something we most certainly need here in the youngest and fastest growing county."

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland added: "It is great to see this major infrastructure finally open. It will greatly enhance the connectivity between our two local authorities making this particular stretch of road much safer. It also opens up better opportunities for much needed housing development. Dublin City Council took responsibility for the traffic communications elements of this project and will have a role in monitoring the junctions so as to ensure smooth traffic flow."