Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 6:02pm

Athlone bypass to receive facelift after €7m funding injection

Athlone's unkempt and increasingly down-at-heel relief road is to be revamped, following an unexected €7m windfall from the National Roads Authority.

It's part of a whopping €7.6m to be spent on roads in and around Athlone this year, a major improvement on the paltry €10,000 allocated last year.

The 2010 funding allocations were announced on Monday, revealing that some €7,650,000 will be spent on Athlone roads, with a total of €21.3m allocated for the entire county.

The majority of the money, or just over €20m is to be spent on improvement works, while the remainder will be spent on maintenance programmes.

The NRA has allocated €7m to be spent on the Athlone bypass this year, while a further €50,000 will be spent on the N55 Cornamaddy to N6 road and €300,000 allocated to fund pavement works on the N55 Cornamaddy to Cornamagh Road. The council will also receive €300,000 to be spent on traffic calming measures in Glasson. The €7m for Athlone bypass is to be spent on overlay and rehabilitation.

Director of Services Barry Kehoe briefly touched on the issue at Monday night's Athlone Town Council meeting, making the announcement to councillors.

Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (FF) welcomed the allocation for the bypass works.

"This is something we've been looking for for a long time. I want to thank Barry for putting in the work, we've often sat here criticising you, Barry," he said. "I think a letter of acknowledgement should be sent to Minister of Transport Noel Dempsey."Fianna Fáil's Cllr Aengus O'Rourke has also welcomed the funding announcement, for the upgrade of the Athlone bypass.