The €424 million project was funded by the Irish exchequer under the National Development Plan and Transport 21 and by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund. The 12.5km section of the Motorway, from Birdhill to Annacotty, also opened to traffic for the first time.
The final section of the M7, from Castletown in Co Laois to Nenagh, will open later this year completing the M7 Inter Urban Motorway between Limerick and Dublin.
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"The new 38km section of the M7 motorway between Nenagh and Limerick is another major step in improving road safety by removing high volumes of traffic from serious accident locations such as Daly’s Cross and Yellow Bridge," said Mr Dempsey. "The transformation of road infrastructure throughout Ireland over the last few years has been enormous and it will offer a significant return on investment for generations to come."
The project included the construction of sections of Motorway through both the Annaholty and Drominboy Bogs, which comprised approximately 10% of the total length of new Motorway on this project. Tried and tested techniques, including the use of piled embankments, were employed to construct almost 3.5km of new Motorway through these Bogs. In recent months the Contractor had to carry out remedial works within parts of a 100m long section of piled embankment necessitating the replacement of a relatively small number of piles and the construction of a reinforced concrete slab over the length of the section. The Contractor was responsible for both the design and construction of the project including any works undertaken within the Bogs.
(CD)
