Agreement For Second Bridge at West-Link Reached
7th January, 2000
Agreement For Second Bridge at West-Link Reached
The National Roads Authority (NRA) and National Toll Roads plc (NTR) announced today (Friday 7th January), that agreement in principle has been reached in relation to the construction of a second bridge adjacent to the existing West-Link bridge in Castleknock, at a capital cost of IR£16.8 million. It is hoped that the construction of the new West-Link toll bridge will commence within 12 months and that it will be open to traffic in early 2003.
The announcement marks the commencement of first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme from those listed recently by the Government. A draft toll scheme has been made by the NRA and has been submitted to Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council for consideration. The scheme will be finalised by the Authority taking account of Council submissions and will then be made available for public comment as part of the process to obtain statutory approval to the toll scheme.
It is anticipated that joint public enquiries in relation to the motorway and toll schemes and the environmental impact statement for the new facility will take place in the Spring of 2000.
Mr Michael Tobin, Chief Executive NRA commented “The Authority welcomes this significant step towards delivery of this project, the capital cost of which will be met entirely from private sources. This approach will supplement the output possible from Exchequer funds in upgrading our national roads. The Authority, together with the local authorities concerned, is actively pursuing arrangements for PPP projects in Waterford (By-Pass incorporating a major river crossing) and Limerick (Southern Ring Road, Phase 2 also involving a major river crossing), as well as examining other possibilities to use the PPP approach to realise the ambitious targets set in the National Development Plan 2000-2006, for improvements to the network of national roads".
“We are delighted to have reached agreement in principle with the NRA in relation to this major new PPP initiative, ”said Mr Ciaran Blair, Director, National Toll Roads plc. “The second bridge at West-Link will assist in considerably easing the flow of traffic around the city and improve service to our West-Link customers. The new facility will have the capacity to cater for additional traffic on the M50, including traffic using the Southern Cross Route, currently under construction and due for completion in mid 2001 and the South Eastern Motorway which should open to traffic in late 2003.”
The NRA was established by the Minister for the Environment in 1994. The authority’s primary function is to secure the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads. The Authority has overall responsibility for planning and supervising the construction, improvement and maintenance of this network, including access routes to principle ports and airports.
NTR operates the East-Link Toll Bridge and West-Link Toll Bridge which were opened in 1984 and 1990 respectively. In 1999 the company announced significant investments in Celtic Waste Limited, which is engaged in the development of a licensed landfill waste disposal and recycling facility in Co. Kildare and in Future Wind Partnership, a broad-based renewable energy development company.
Issued on behalf of the National Roads Authority and National Toll Roads plc
Enquiries —
NRA - Fiona Guilfoyle, Tel: (01) 6602511/(087) 678 4909
NTR - Nigel Heneghan, Tel: (01) 6607395/(086) 258 7206