Work on 34km N5 road project is ‘ahead of schedule’

Construction on the new N5 road project is ahead of schedule, councillors were told at last week’s budget meeting of Roscommon County Council.

Chief Executive Shane Tiernan told the councillors that the project made up a significant portion of the council’s three year €442 million capital budget.

In the budget document, the council said construction of the 34km of single carriageway on the N5 between Ballaghaderreen and Scramogue continued.

This new road will link with the N5 Ballaghaderreen bypass in the west, passing to the south of Frenchpark, before bypassing Ballinagare, Tulsk and Strokestown tying back into the existing N5 near Scramogue. This new road will deliver a major economic boost to the region, providing a consistent high-quality road along the N5 corridor, encouraging tourism, investment and employment in County Roscommon, the West and North-West, the local authority said.

Since its starting date in November 2023, detailed design and construction has progressed very well, with construction approximately 60% complete as of the end of September.

Speaking about the road, Mr Tiernan said the €192.2 million project “is ahead of schedule and really going well”.

“We hope to be ahead of schedule for the opening of that. That will be a huge benefit to the West of Ireland and of course County Roscommon.” Council Cathaoirleach Liam Callaghan welcomed the news, saying he was delighted to see that it was progressing.

Cllr Valerie Byrne said that the project was “terrific” for the whole county, but she highlighted that Elphin was now the town that all the heavy vehicles were now using as a result of the construction.

She asked that funding me set aside to bring Elphin’s roads “back up to where they should be”, calling for a specific allocation as “there was a lot of work to be done”.

Cllr Sean Moylan agreed that funding should be provided for the town.

“Elphin is getting the brunt of the N5 work that is going on at the moment,” he said.