Tunnel tigers will keep N17 open

By TOM GILMORE SOME of those working on Tuam's Big Dig will become 'tunnel tigers' from next Monday, when they start burrowing under the busy N17, close to Tuam Shopping Centre. But to the relief of traders and motorists, this vital route will remain open as the tunnelling continues. 'We will start doing this tunnelling next Monday from the Abbey Trinity Estate side of the N17. 'Hopefully, if we don't encounter any major problems with rocks, we should have this part of the project, under the N17, across to Glynn's yard, complete in two weeks,' says Eoin Long, Project Manager with Coffey Construction. He admits that this part of the work, installing an open face pipe jack, will be painstaking, but he is confident that it is the best way to proceed in this area without causing major traffic problems along this busy route. While they will not have to close the N17 during this part of the work a section of the Ballygaddy Road from the junction with the N17 to Old Road will be closed for a number of weeks from next Monday. 'There will still be access to Glynn's Store, via Chapel Lane and also via Foster Place where traffic will be two-way from next Monday until the work there is completed in January. The Old Road will also remain open,' says Eoin Long. He added that the diversions in place on the N17, between the Weir Road traffic lights and the entrance to Gilmartin Road, have been working well. 'Diverting traffic via Church View has been a big success and it has kept it free flowing most of the time,' he said. Good progress has also been made on work at Market Square, from the junction with High Street to Supermacs, and Coffey's team expect this to be completed by early next week. At that stage, access to Vicar Street will return to normal but Dublin Road will be closed to vehicular traffic for 13 weeks. Diversions will be in place and there will also be pedestrian access to all businesses on Dublin Road. John Stapleton, President of Tuam Chamber of Commerce, says Coffey's have agreed to bring inâ€â€šlarger digging equipment to expedite the works past the Circular Road junction, in time for the December 4 deadline. Work methods will also be modified to ensure progress is speeded up. Meanwhile, work in the area near Cluid Housing has gone very well and the team there have now moved off into the fields behind those houses. 'They will be working across those fields and off the roads for approximately eight weeks as they make the connections to Athenry Road and the railway crossing,' says Eoin Long. Another team of workers is still in the Ballinamona Park-McHale Terrace area and they expect to have this section completed in about a week, when they will then be deployed to Killaloonty. A further group of workers will continue to operate on a lay-by at the Bobby Burke Road for the rest of this week. After that, they will also move to the Abbey Trinity Estate area to help complete the laying of sewer pipes there. Overall the Big Dig has been going according to schedule, according to Eoin Long and Coffey Construction have not got many calls from concerned citizens in recent days as he says they are doing their best to accommodate the needs of everyone. Chamber President John Stapleton has said that both Coffey's and Dermot Collins from Galway Co Council have held constructive meetings with them and they hope toâ€â€šcontinue to work in close consultation with the Big Dig team, to ensure any major issues in the run-up to Christmas are fed back and acted on as soon as possible. The Chamber President says the work cannot be completed without disruption but with consultation and flexibility on all sides, they must aim to keep it to a minimum.