Consultants to start this year on Athlone east link road design
By Kevin O'Neill
A consultant is expected to be appointed later this year to progress the design of a major new eastern relief road in Athlone, council members heard at the latest meeting of the Municipal District of Athlone-Moate.
Last November, the 3km route, which will link the Ballymahon Road (N55), near the junction with the Ballymore/Mullingar road, to the M6 roundabout at Junction 8, received key Government approval.
At that time, Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran confirmed the proposed East Athlone Relief Route is included in the revised National Development Plan.
The scheme is designed to relieve congestion in Athlone town centre by diverting through traffic, while also supporting improved accessibility and safety for active travel. It is included in the Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport under the recent National Development Plan (NDP) Review, which was published last November. The plan includes what is described as Bypass/Relief Road Programme including Athlone, Claregalway, Thurles, Ballina, as projects to be advanced for future construction.
An indicative route for the road sees it commence close to the ‘Ballymore turn’ on the N55, continue to the east of the Woodville housing development and the Blyry Business Park, then crossing the Moydrum Road and the Old Rail Trail greenway before connecting with the roundabout on the M6 at Creggan.
The issue was brought to the council by way of a motion from Cllr Paul Hogan, who was seeking an update on the provision of the link road.
District Manager for Westmeath County Council Jackie Finney confirmed to the meeting that the project design phase is being led by the council's Transportation Section, which has funding for the design phase. Members of the Transportation Section has committed to attend the October meeting of the Municipal District to provide 'further details', she said.
"Liaison with the Department of Transport is ongoing in relation to this road scheme and it is envisaged that a consultant will be appointed later in 2026 to progress Phase 0 to Phase 4 of the scheme development to plan, design and receive planning approval for the road scheme," said the District Engineer Willie Ryan.
Phase 0 to 4 refers to the process from the scoping and pre-appraisal of the scheme, through the various plannig stages, incuding the identification of options and the preferred route selection, right up to the preparation and publication of the statutory orders for the scheme, such as environmental impact reports, planning and CPO documentation, if required.