A new bypass of Sallins in Co Kildare, which includes access to the M7 motorway, will open to traffic at 11am on Friday .
The bypass is phase two of an overall project, which included widening of the M7 and completion of a new junction between the bypass and motorway at Osberstown.
Friday’s opening will not, however, include a new link road, which is being developed from the Sallins bypass to Sallins village. This element of the project is expected to open later this year.
The new bypass will begin at the Naas distributor road at Millennium Park, going westwards and will include the new junction 9a Osberstown interchange before moving on to a new Sallins roundabout and finishing at the Clane Road.
The opening of the Sallins bypass will provide greater accessibility to and from the M7 to Naas, Sallins and environs.
The scheme was funded by the Department of Transport, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Kildare County Council and constructed by a joint venture between Siac and Colas.
During the height of the construction phase, more than 350 people were directly employed on the project.
The Sallins bypass comprised about 0.7km of dual carriageway and 1.85km of single carriageway, with seven structures constructed, including a structure under the Dublin to Cork railway line and bridges over the M7 , the Grand Canal and river Liffey.
‘Active travel’
Planning for “active travel” has been incorporated into the scheme with an additional 2.5km of shared cycle and pedestrian pathways and 2.3km of segregated cycleway and pedestrian footpaths in the Naas/Sallins area. The Grand Canal cycle track/footpath to the Naas distributor road and Sallins bypass is also included in the scheme.
The opening of the new road is expected to take significant traffic out of the village of Sallins, creating a safer travel environment particularly for vulnerable road users within the village and surrounding area.
Recent National Transport Authority funding for traffic calming, active travel measures and public realm initiatives will combine to enhance the village in tandem with the removal of traffic.
Lower traffic volumes are expected to improve public transport accessibility and particularly improve access to and from Sallins train station.
The M7 Naas widening scheme was originally due to have been completed in April 2019, but opened to traffic on the 19th November 2019.The Sallins bypass and Osberstown interchange were due to be completed in 2020.
