AFTER delays of over twenty years, approval has been granted for the N6 Galway City Ring Road (N6 GCRR).
An Coimisiún Pleanála gave the go-ahead to the project this month. It follows two decades of false starts, hundreds of objections and multiple legal challenges.
Running along the M6 motorway on the eastern fringes of the city to a location west of the village of Bearna, the proposed 18km N6 Galway City Outer Ring Road has been earmarked €1bn under the National Development Plan.
Galway County Council, Galway City Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) welcomed the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant approval. The N6 GCRR is a core component of the wider transport solution for Galway City and County, complementing BusConnects, ongoing rail enhancements, Active Travel and the continued delivery of other major transport initiatives under the Galway Transport Strategy (GTS).
Prolonged planning delays “has been very difficult for home and property owners affected by the proposed route,” a statement for Galway County Council, Galway City Council and TII acknowledged. All parties will now proceed, following a detailed review of An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision, to the next phase of the project. The Enabling and Procurement stage includes the progression of detailed design, preparation of contract documentation and the procurement process.
