NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The proposed road improvements may be viewed nationally in the context of the National Development Plan.
The National Development Plan is designed to underpin the development of a dynamic competitive economy over the period 2000-2006. Unlike its two predecessors, this is not a Plan primarily designed to draw down EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. Whilst these funds will continue to perform a valuable, albeit declining, role as a source of funding, this Plan is based first and foremost on an assessment of the development needs of the country. The central challenge which is addressed in this National Development Plan is the implementation of public policies which will increase the capacity of Ireland’s economy to maintain strong and sustainable output and employment growth.It must prepare the economy for the competitive challenges arising from newand rapidly changing domestic and
international economic conditions. In doing this it will help to ensure that Ireland’s recent economic progress is consolidated and built on in a sustainable way.

The primary road transport objectives are:

• To improve the reliability of the road transport system by removing bottlenecks,remedying capacity deficiencies and reducing absolute journey times and journey time variance;

• To improve internal road transport infrastructure between regions and within regions, contribute to the competitiveness of the productive sector and foster balanced regional development;

• To facilitate better access to and from the main ports and airports with the main objective of offsetting the negative effects of peripherality;

• To contribute to sustainable transport policies, facilitating continued economic growth and regional development while ensuring a high level of environmental protection;

• To help achieve the objectives of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy in relation to the reduction in fatalities and serious injuries caused by road accidents.

These objectives will be achieved as part of an integrated transport investment programme for the period 2000 – 2006.

The key features of this programme will include:

• A concerned and focused development strategy for the national primary road network focusing in particular on key national routes;

• Improvement of national secondary roads of critical importance for economic development and balanced regional development;

• A high priority for the safety of road users in the design and construction of road projects.

BORDER, MIDLAND AND WESTERN REGIONS

The pressure on the country’s physical and human resource infrastructure is compounded by lack of sufficient regional balance in our economic development. The infrastructure in large urban areas, especially the Dublin region, is under
pressure from the upsurge in commercial and business activity and the increasing population in these areas to serve this activity. By contrast, rural and smaller urban areas have lagged behind and there has been continuing divergence
between the economic performances of the Southern and Eastern (S&E) and Border, Midland and Western
(BMW) Regions.

The S&E and the BMW regions face a number of key and distinctive challenges which will be addressed in the plan.

• Increase the potential of the Region to act as a counterbalance to the S&E Region, especially Dublin, and pursue more balanced growth within the Region;

• Increase the presence in the Region of the key drivers of sustainable economic growth, notably in the productive sector;

• Improve the quality of the Region’s economic and social infrastructure and human resources;

• Build on the Region’s natural resource base, especially in the areas of agriculture, tourism, the seafood sector and rural enterprise;

• Promote rural and urban social inclusion.

TRANSPORT 21

Transport 21 is the initiative by the government to provide a plan for the years 2006 – 2015 to address the country’s transport needs.As part of this plan, it is proposed to provide a strategic north south link for the western seaboard, known as the Atlantic Corridor, stretching from Letterkenny to Waterford via Donegal, Sligo, Galway, Limerick and Cork.The N18 Oranmore to Gort road scheme forms an integral part of the Atlantic Corridor.

THE NATIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY

The National Spatial Strategy of Ireland (NSS) is a twenty year planning framework designed to achieve a better balance of social, economic, physical development and population growth between regions. Its focus is on people, on places and on building communities. Through closer matching of where people live with where they work, different
parts of Ireland will for the future be able to sustain:

• A better quality of life for people
• Astrong, competitiveeconomic position and
• An environment of the highest quality

This Strategy is:
• National – it provides a national framework to guide policies, programmes and investment;
• Spatial – it is concerned with the location of people, their work and other activities and how different places relate to each other;
• Strategic – it offers a broad, long-term, comprehensive twenty-year view for achieving more balanced patterns of
development.

The remarkable economic, social and physical progress of recent years has established a platform upon which policies can be put in place to ensure that more balanced development is achieved, within a well-planned spatial structure
of attractive, competitive and innovative places. In this Strategy the Government is spelling out the basis on which all areas of the country will have the opportunity to develop to their potential within a national spatial planning framework for the period up to 2020.

The Strategy will:

• Inform strategic investment, transport and other infrastructure policy decisions, for both the public and private
sectors;it will also help to shape future National Development Plans and other investment plans;
• Promote cost-effective provision of public services such as roads.

COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The current Galway County Development Plan states in its general objectives, that the development of all roads assists economic development at local, inter-county and national level. This Development Plan highlights as its objective the development of the N18 as part of a western Route Corridor, involving the construction of a dual carriageway under the Oranmore to Gort Scheme.

NEED FOR THE SCHEME

The development of a dual carriageway link between Galway and Limerick is an objective of the National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 and the N18 Oranmore to Gort scheme represents a part of this proposed network. The need for the N18 Oranmore to Gort scheme has been set out in detail in the Route Selection Report and the EIS.

SCHEME DESCRIPTION

The N18 has been designed for the years 2010 to 2030. The proposed N18 road improvement scheme is 27.7 km long
and stretches from Rathmorrissy (approximately 8 km east of Oranmore) to the townland of Glenbrack on the northern outskirts of Gort. The proposed N18 specimen design is for a standard dual carriageway with interchanges proposed at Rathmorrissy, Kiltiernan and Gort.

The scheme includes:
• Three interchanges (Rathmorrissy, Kiltiernan,Gort)
• Nineteen road bridges
• Two river bridges (over the Clarinbridge and Dunkellin Rivers)
• One railway bridge
• Four accommodation bridges
• Four accommodation underpasses

In order to construct the road, four residential properties will need to be acquired.The N18 road project will require
approximately 240 hectares of land. The design of the N18 Oranmore to Gort scheme began in Spring 2000 with the appointment of McCarthy Hyder Tobin to undertake the Constraints Study, Route Selection, Preliminary Design and
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the scheme as per the National Roads Authority’s Project Management Guidelines.

Public consultation has taken place for the entire project duration with public exhibitions held in November 2000, May
2001 and September 2001. Further consultation sessions with landowners affected by the scheme were held in Gort
and Athenry in November 2005. At all stages of the project,the project team have been available to meet landowners and residents affected by the scheme in order to listen to and identify their concerns. The approach taken by the project team has been to make every effort practicable to accommodate those affected by the scheme.