Update given on major County Roscommon road project 

A planning application for a new multi million euro road project in South Roscommon is hoped to be submitted in 2028.

At a meeting of the Athlone Municipal District today, councillors were given an update on the Monksland Strategic Road Project, which will link Bogganfin, Kiltoom to the Tuam Road in Monksland.

During the summer, the council published a tender seeking engineering services for the 2.5km long single carriageway urban relief road. This tender was for the delivery of stages 1 to 4 of the project linking the R362 to the N61 at Monksland. The estimated value of the tender was €300 000, excluding VAT. The overall budget of the project could range between €20 to 30 million.

At this morning’s meeting, MD co-ordinator Susan Loughnane informed councillors that the Department of Transport, has allocated an initial €50,000 in seed funding for the first phase of the project.

She said that the tender process for the engineering consultants closed in mid-August, and a tender assessment is currently underway. It is anticipated that consultants will be appointed at the end of this month.

Following the appointment of the consultants, work will commence on a project execution plan and a feasibility and options study for the project. This phase is expected to be completed by the end of March 2027. Upon completion of this, the documents will be submitted to the department for formal review and approval to proceed to the next stages of the project.

Councillors welcomed the news, with Cllr Emer Kelly hoping that the project could be completed in a timely manner. Cllr Tony Ward highlighted the need for the project, saying some motorists were using the Old Tuam Road as a shortcut in the evening, causing traffic to back up on the New Tuam Road.

“I hope there is no hold up on the project and that it will go ahead as quickly as possible,” he said.

Cllr Valerie Duffy said it was great news, and she asked for a timeline on the project's delivery.

Ms Loughnane said it was a “significant” road project, with a number of phases that needed to be completed to adhere to department guidelines.

“We would hope that we could seek planning in the first half of 2028,” she said.

Cllr John Keogh said he was happy to hear of the 2028 timeline for the project.