THE Galway City Ring Road (GCRR) project is set to comply with one of its main planning requirements over the coming days when Galway County Council completes its ‘further information’ request from An Bord Pleanála, the Connacht Tribune has learned.
Super Junior Minister of State, with Responsibility for Road Transport, Seán Canney, said this week that he had been assured by the Chief Executive of Galway County Council, Liam Conneally, that the further information required by the Planning Board from the local authority, would be submitted by tomorrow [Friday].
Deputy Canney told the Connacht Tribune that there was an ‘absolute 100% commitment’ from this Government to clear the way for the start of a project which he added would be ‘a game changer’ in relation to transport issues across the Galway and Western Region.
He also said that there had been an allocation of €2.4 million for the Ring Road in the 2025 Funding Programme for National Roads.
This allocation, said Deputy Canney, would involve ongoing design and preparatory planning work, which would give a reasonably strong chance of a planning decision on the project being issued by An Bord Pleanála before the end of this year.
“I want to be absolutely clear on the status of the Galway City Ring Road plan. It is an absolute commitment of this Government to do everything possible to finally clear the way for this project to start over the coming years, and possibly by as soon as 2028.
“This is a piece of transport infrastructure which should have been put in place many years ago and we are determined now, to ensure that this project gets under way for the people of County Galway, Galway City and the Conamara region,” said Minister Canney.
A Bord Pleanála approval decision on the Ring Road was stalled by the High Court in January 2024, which ruled that the Board’s decision had not taken into account the State’s Climate Action Plan.
Pictured: Super Junior Minister of State, Seán Canney
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