This article is from page 2 of the 2006-12-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
THE OFFICIAL opening of the Ennis by-pass has been deferred to January due to fears that the road may not be ready in time because of the recent poor weather conditions.
However, workers from GAMA Construction are now working seven days a week and the company is still aiming for the main section of the €190 million by-pass to be open for traffic on or before the original target date of December 21.
The recent poor weather, however, has thrown that timetable into doubt with County Engineer Tom Carey confirming that a planned ceremony to mark the opening of the by-pass on December 21 has been postponed due to doubts that the road will be ready in time.
“The deferral is purely related to the weather. It is nobody’s fault as the contractor was gung-ho in finishing the first phase for December 21,” he said.
Mr Carey said the decision to postpone the opening ceremony was made following a meeting with representatives from the National Roads Authority (NRA) on Friday morning.
Before the meeting, Mr Carey admitted the contractor was “very much up against it” to meet the December 21 deadline to open the first phase of the new route.
Prior to the weather deteriorating over the past number of weeks, Mr Carey said the council was confident that the first part of the contract would be completed on time.
However, he told The Clare People there were a number of issues to be addressed, including final surfacing and road lining, that were weather dependent and outside the control of the contractors.
“Safety is paramount and there will be a safety audit after the works are complete and these audits normally turn up things that require addressing. We are not talking about a long deferral of the opening ceremony and are hopeful of an opening ceremony in early January, taking the holidays into account.”
Mr Carey said that the by-pass will make a “very, very significant difference” to the quality of life of people living in Ennis.
“For motorists driving from Limerick to Galway, it will cut journey times by 20 minutes and more in certain times,” he said.