Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East Anne Rabbitte slammed the decision and said it is now being claimed that no other funding can be sourced after it was not included in the Government's Capital Investment Plan.
She said: "I have consistently highlighted very serious problems with large stretches of this road, particularly between Kilmeen Cross and Portumna. This is the main road linking Galway and Rosslare, and the gateway from the West to the Midlands. More than 4,000 cars cross the bridge in Portumna every day, where the road surface is badly in need of repair, and is considered an accident blackspot. Despite this Galway County Council has been starved of funding for upgrade works.
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"I wrote to the Minister for Transport to establish whether money could be made available to carry out essential works to improve the safety of these stretches of road. My query was referred on to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) which has now confirmed that no funding will be allocated until after 2021."
Deputy Rabbitte also said she was "outraged" by the decision.
She said: "Portumna is consistently having to play catch-up when it comes to investment – and this is another example of the town and its surrounding areas being shunted to the bottom of the pile. I am calling on Minister Ross to re-examine the current allocation of funding under the Capital Investment Plan to see if money for these essential works can be found."
(CD/LM)
