Athlone bypass works now due to end in late October

Westmeath County Council has said the current upgrade project on the Athlone Relief Road is not scheduled to be completed until late October. Major work on the project began in early February, and at that stage the council published updates on its website which stated that the project would take "approximately 7 months between the start of February and the end of August 2011." This was used as a guideline by organisations including AA Roadwatch, which at the time of going to press yesterday (Tuesday) had a traffic update on its website stating that major works on the bypass would continue "until August." However Michael Kelly, Project Engineer in the council's Regional Design Office, said this week that the use of late August as the completion date for the project was not correct. A more recent web update from the council said: "The works will be carried out by Wills Bros Ltd and will take approximately 10 months between the start of January and the end of October 2011." "This was always a 40-week project," Mr Kelly told the Westmeath Independent. A special speed limit of 50 km/h was implemented on the bypass on January 4 last, while lane closures started on January 31 and a contra-flow traffic system commenced on February 9. Mr Kelly said the work was originally expected to begin last November but delays, some of which were caused by the harsh winter weather, meant it was unable to begin until the end of January. He added that he expected the project to be completed by the end of the 40-week period. He said that, at best, the contractor might be finished after 39 weeks. The 11-phase project entered its fourth phase yesterday, when the eastbound entry to the bypass at junction 11 (Coosan) and the eastbound exit at junction 10 (Ballymahon Road) were closed to traffic. These will be closed for approximately 3 weeks and the bypass is scheduled to be reduced to one lane in each direction between junction 11 and junction 10 until Friday April 29. Diversions have been put in place by the council and these are illustrated on maps which have been posted on its website. The details can be viewed by logging onto www.westmeathcoco.ie and clicking on the latest Athlone Relief Road update on the home page.