Road to ruin for N18 businesses?

THE opening of the €207 million Gort to Crusheen bypass, while broadly welcomed, could have a devastating effect on businesses located along the existing N18, including Gort and Crusheen.

“The jury is still out” on the impact the bypass will have on commerce in the area, according to one public representative. Some business people, who rely on passing trade, are apprehensive about what effect the opening of the 22.3km dual carriageway will have on their livelihoods.
The extension of the M18 will be officially opened by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey this Friday at midday, just two years after the sod was turned on the project.
Clare County Councillor Joe Arkins lives in Ruan. For the nearby village of Crusheen, the effect of the new road will be immeasurable.
“Crusheen has been a village divided in two, left and right of the N18, for the past number of years. Bypassing it will provide the village centre with a better chance to develop. In the short term, it will have adverse effects on passing trade but with appropriate signposting, Crusheen would be an ideal refuelling and services stop. I believe that is a role that Crusheen could fill,” he told The Clare Champion.
Councillor Arkins highlighted how accessible the M18 will make Galway and eventually Dublin when the next phase of the Atlantic Corridor from Gort to Tuam is completed.
“At the moment, to go from North Clare to Dublin, you have to travel to Gort on a bad road and then on to Loughrea on something that is just like a dirt track. When we are able to get onto the M6 at Oranmore we will be able to get from here to Dublin in about two and a half hours,” he said.
The Fine Gael councillor does not believe the ease of access to Dublin will threaten the future of Shannon Airport.
“It is all about connectivity and if we had that down through the years, it would have improved Shannon Airport’s development because you need accessibility and a customer base. This base involves people who can get to the airport within an hour or two.
“The Ennis bypass is open a couple of years but before that, to get from Galway to Shannon was an expedition. This new road (from Gort to Tuam) will improve connectivity between Galway and Shannon Airport when it is finished,” he stated.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport concurs. Speaking about the opening of the M18, which from Friday will extend from Shannon to Gort, he said, “This is the latest in an improving network of road and rail access for Shannon Airport, which has been ongoing over recent years. The completion of all planned projects in the region, including the M18, and not least the recent Shannon Tunnel, will increase the airport’s catchment to over one million people.
“This allows people to access Shannon Airport inside one hour and further widens our market and strengthens our hand in terms of growing services at Shannon Airport.
“We are satisfied, based on the services in transatlantic and short haul to the UK and Europe, that Shannon is the most attractive airport for the people in this catchment area.
“We don’t see Dublin as competition in this regard because people here won’t be able to make Dublin in one hour and will choose Shannon because of proximity and ease of access,” he concluded.
John Igoe runs the Ballyline Bar, which sits at the side of the N18 between the Ennis bypass and the village of Crusheen. His business is hugely dependent on passing trade, including those travelling to and from Shannon Airport from Galway.
“It is a wait-and-see situation. We don’t know what the opening of the bypass will mean. We have some local business and we also have truckers who we believe will still come here but the passing trade of hen and stag parties, soccer and GAA groups and American tourists who use our premises, I am afraid they won’t take a chance of going off the road,” he said.
With two dependents in third-level education, Mr Igoe is eager to keep the family-run restaurant going.
“I am working on new ideas to generate business. I have just seen the new layout of the road and we are just making plans now for signage. We understand the council are putting up the signs for us so we are looking forward to that,” he stated.
The new two-lane motorway is likely to take a large proportion of the traffic from the existing Gort to Crusheen part of the N18, a stretch notorious for its bends.
Fianna Fáil Galway County Councillor Gerry Finnerty said, “For the people that live on the N18 at the moment, particularly at Bunnahow and Lough Cultra, those people will be delighted with the opening of the new road because they will have easier access to their homes. Often, they would be delayed by between five or 10 minutes on a fairly short journey because of traffic. For them, the opening will be a great relief. As for the effect it will have on Gort, the jury is still out.”
Work has already begun on resurfacing the road through Gort, which has been in an extremely bad condition for some time.
“Gort is currently being completely revamped and Wills Bros Ltd are in there already resurfacing the N18 through the town. Traffic is a bit caught up with that at the moment but opening the M18 will ease that to a degree. Work is expected to be finished on that in the first week of December provided everything goes to plan but you can often have a delay or hiccup that wouldn’t be foreseen,” he commented.
Councillor Finnerty is also the PRO of the Gort Chamber of Commerce. He noted, “The next four weeks would be the busiest time of year for most retail and wholesale businesses. To lose the passing traffic will be a huge blow to them. We hope that people will remember Gort and still come in and do business here.”
While many in Gort have campaigned, unsuccessfully so far, to get a second entrance from the M18 to Gort, local Fine Gael Councillor Bridie Willers believes the proximity of the new bypass to the town will be beneficial to businesses.
“We can’t prophesise what the effect of the bypass will be yet but one really positive thing is that the M18 is so close to Gort town. There will be a drop in passing trade but Gort is a great town and will fight back and there is a community spirit. If anyone wants to see what a community can do, they can look at Gort. It has a lot going for it and bypassing it will make it a nicer place for people to stop. We have to shop local and support our own business,” she remarked.