PLANS FOR a €41 million new bridge over the river Shannon at Killaloe and a bypass of the heritage town have received a boost.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has provided €500,000 to Clare County Council to carry out the work necessary to present the long-anticipated scheme to An Bord Pleanála.
For many years there have been traffic jams on the 18th century 13-arch bridge that connects Killaloe with Ballina.
The bridge, which is only 4.8m wide in places, is the main crossing point on the Shannon between the Co Galway town of Portumna to the north and Limerick city to the south.
Built for horses and carts, the bridge now has to accommodate the growing commercial traffic using it to avoid Limerick on the way to Dublin or the west coast.
Traffic lights have been installed in an effort to regulate traffic flow on the bridge.
The new bridge is planned 1km downstream from Killaloe.
