Bypass plan back on the road

IT has to start off again as a ‘clean sheet’ project after a fruitless 20 year hibernation – but the city’s outer bypass project could yet be completed by 2019/2020. This week city and county councillors were briefed on the project with two full days of public consultation to take place next week . . . and now it’s ‘full steam ahead’ for the estimated €300 million project. Project Engineer for the Galway City Outer Bypass (GCOB), Fintan O’Meara, told the Galway City Tribune that there was no alternative but to start with a ‘clean sheet’ process for the project. “The original scheme has no longer any legal status following the court rulings but we are now starting afresh on a critical infrastructural project both for the city and the region,” said Mr O’Meara. He said that with everything going on schedule they would hope to have the preferred route selected by ‘late 2014 or early 2015’ with the project going to the CPO (compulsory purchase order), EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) stages by late 2015 or early 2016. Construction time for the project is estimated to be in the region of three years. This week, Galway Government TD, Brian Walsh, said there was an ‘absolute cast-iron guarantee’ that funding would be provided for the project once the planning hurdles had been cleared. “It is an absolute certainty that the funding for this project will be provided. There is an overwhelming case in favour of this bypass both from the point of view of internal traffic in the city and in access to and from the Connemara region,” said Deputy Walsh. Over recent days, a dedicated project office for GCOB has been established beside the National Roads Project Office in Ballybrit that is staffed by the Arup Consulting Engineers group. In the briefing document provided to councillors this week, it was made clear that the project would be proceeding under Article 6 (4) of the European Habitats Directive or what is commonly referred to as the IROPI process – Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest. For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.