A Galway TD has raised concerns that the entirety of an Athenry relief road will not be funded as previously suggested after a meeting with the Department of Transport.

Galway East TD Louis O’Hara said the funds provided under the Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund will no longer cover the full completion of the road or the railway bridge works.

“The recently announced funding for the Athenry Ring Road under the Housing Infrastructure Fund only covers a section of less than 1km of the proposed new road. It does not cover the full road or crucially the necessary raising of the existing rail bridge as has been suggested,” Deputy O’Hara said.

“I have met with Department of Transport officials in relation to the Athenry Ring Road. They have informed me that while the road itself is not cost-prohibitive, the works on the railway bridge are likely to be.”

“Based on this and feedback from Galway County Council, I have significant concerns that the Department is not committed to the full road project.”

Responding to the Irish Independent, the Department of Transport said the bridge in question forms part of the western rail corridor project and bisects the relief road route.

“It is important to note that when the Athenry relief road project was first conceived, the western railway corridor project was not under consideration,” a spokesperson said.

“The current proposal indicates that the existing bridge over the final road section may have to be raised and there may be additional impacts on another bridge. The cost implications on the final section of the Athenry relief road and any possible impacts on the business case for the scheme are being assessed,” the spokesperson added.

Deputy O’Hara understands that Galway County Council is now preparing a revised business case for the project.

“The Department continues to work closely with Galway County Council in order to determine how best to take the project forward while also ensuring the scheme is cost effective, delivers value for money and meets the requirements of the Transport Appraisal Framework.”

Two of the four sections of the Athenry relief road are now operational including the “elbow” at Ballygurraune.

In June, €1bn under the HIIF was allocated to the relief road, among other projects in County Galway and Galway City as the Government aims to see the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme.