Plans have been approved for the N63 Liss to Abbey realignment scheme which will see 2.3km of new road built on the regional route.
An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Galway County Council for the project, which will take out a sharp bend and narrow bridge on the N63 east of Abbeyknockmoy.
The project would involve the construction of 2.3km of single carriageway road across agricultural land north of the current bend in the N63.
It will also require the construction of a roundabout to tie in to the western end of the scheme, a new bridge across the Abbert river, and two new priority junctions to connect to the L6159 and L6234.
Other works will involve pedestrian and cycling infrastructure to connect the two village cores, accommodation works for existing access roads, and a viewing area for Abbeyknockmoy Abbey.
The EIAR report for the project states that it is needed as the existing N63 is narrow, with no hard shoulder and poor alignment, and now provisions for pedestrians or cyclists.
Liss Bridge is also narrow and restrictions traffic, the report states, with agricultural vehicles regularly conflicting with traffic.
There are also 19 direct accesses onto the N63 in the study area, several of which have inadequate sightlines.
An oral hearing for this project was held on November 24 of last year, which related to both the road project itself, and the CPO for land involved in it.
An Bord Pleanála has granted planning approval for the road realignment project, and confirmed the CPO of lands for the road.
