Fears over dealys with a number of the county’s major roads projects has prompted the National Roads Authority to declare that funding would now be provided for the construction of the motorway to Tuam and the dual carriageway to Gort.

Government TDs had come under fire when there was intense speculation that funding these projects had run dry. Earlier this week a senior NRA official confirmed that money from the private sector had been secured and this would pave the way for the M17 and Tuam bypass to be constructed in one project.

And Minister Eamon O Cuiv also said that he had received a firm commitment that construction works on the N18 from Galway to Ennis — including the Gort bypass — would commence early next year.

However, that is almost a year after the Department of Transport said that the actual works on building the road would begin.

Corporate Affairs Manager with the NRA, Michael Egan was in Galway this week and announced that private funding had become available for the M17 project. This involves a 25 km stretch of road between Tuam and a superjunction at Rathmorrissey, near Athenry, which connects it to the N6 Galway to Dublin road.

It was recently announced that it would be .....................