New bypass will ease traffic bottleneck
A new bypass will be officially opened today to relieve a notorious traffic bottleneck in the midlands.
Transport Minister Pat the Cope Gallagher will launch the completed N52 Mullingar Bypass in Co Westmeath following 20 months of construction.
The N52 is a national secondary route which provides a strategic link between Dundalk in Co Louth and Nenagh in Co Tipperary.
The bypass extends from Marlinstown, east of the town of Mullingar, to the N52 at the south of the town.
The scheme involved five kilometres of single carriageway, as well as the construction of bridges across the Dublin to Sligo railway line and the Royal Canal.
The town has already benefited from the N4 bypass on the Dublin/Sligo route, which was opened in 1994.
It was still experiencing high volumes of traffic using the N52 between Dundalk and Nenagh.
