Taoiseach officially opens N5 Westport to Turlough Road Project

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has officially opened the multi-million euro N5 Westport to Turlough Road Project, which includes a new dual carriageway between Westport and Castlebar, a northern bypass of Westport and a southern bypass of Castlebar.

Mr Varadkar described the project as “a significant achievement” that will “improve road safety and enhance the quality of life in the area by improving accessibility and journey times for people commuting to work and other activities.” An Taoiseach also noted that the N5 project is one part of the vision of sustainable and balanced economic and social regional development enshrined in the National Development Plan.

Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, Kevin Kelly, echoed these sentiments, describing the completion of the project as “a momentous occasion for the county and the culmination of years of dedicated effort,” and thanking the stakeholders who supported the delivery of the project and the local community for their patience during the construction period.

The project involved the design and construction of approximately 20km of Type 2 dual carriageway and approximately 7.5km of single carriageway (Type 1, 2 and 3).

It includes:

• the upgrade of a 2.5km section of the N59 Westport to Mulranny national secondary road at Barleyhill, Westport
• the design and construction of two compact grade separated junctions
• six at grade roundabouts
• two rail bridges over the Dublin to Westport rail line
• 24 bridge structures

Construction began in January 2020, with the first section – 10km of dual carriageway stretching from the N5 roundabout at Turlough to the N5 roundabout at Pheasanthill on the Westport Road - opening to traffic on 26 April 2023.

ROD has been supporting the council and Mayo National Roads Office in the delivery of the scheme since 2000. ROD-AECOM acted as consultant engineers for TII phases 1-4 planning and design stage of the project, which commenced in 2007. In 2017, ROD was appointed by the council to undertake phases 5-7 of the project, including development of detailed works requirements, procurement, contract administration and construction supervision. We also had a full-time resident engineering team working on site to monitor the works and liaise with both our technical review team and council representatives.

ROD Technical Director, Edward Warren, expressed his thanks to the project team in Mayo County Council’s National Roads Office (NRO) for their professionalism and support, saying: “The commitment and collaborative approach demonstrated by Senior Engineer, Paul Hyland, Senior Executive Engineer, Marian McHugh, and their colleagues in the NRO was crucial to the project’s successful delivery.”