€10 million funding for N59 Kilmeena to Westport route announced

A SUM of €10 million has been allocated for much needed improvements to the N59 road in Mayo.

Making the announcement, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, stated: “This will directly benefit the thousands of Mayo people that regularly use that road.

“This investment will focus on the Kilmeena to Westport section of the road and will bring to near completion the improvements to the N59 between Westport and Mulranny. This is a major investment and will connect the Westport Road to the N5 when that road is completed. 

“When I was a minister in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, I allocated funding for the Kilbride section of the road. I have kept pushing for further investment in the N59 and am delighted to see this major investment come to fruition.

 “People talked about doing this for 50 years but never did anything about it. In the lifetime of this Fine Gael-led government, and despite challenging economic circumstances, we have nearly completed it.

 “The N59 is a vital artery which runs the whole western side of the county and all the way down through Connemara to Galway City. It is a vital route for tourists visiting our county.

"The road will be safer and journey times will be improved as a result of this upgrade. An investment in this road is an investment in our local communities and in our tourism industry.

“As Minister for Rural Development I firmly believe that we need good infrastructure if we are going to ensure that people stay in rural areas and that we can attract jobs and investment to those areas.

"I look forward to seeing the completion of this upgrade to the N59 route and I call on all parties to ensure that it goes ahead without delay.”