Dublin Galway Greenway

In a significant move for the Dublin Galway greenway, Ballinasloe has been selected as the location for the office that will oversee the project. In July 2019, Senator Maura Hopkins called for the public office for the Athlone to Galway Greenway to be located in the East Galway town. While there had been previous local opposition to the greenway in Galway, it is hoped that the Ballinasloe to Athlone section of the greenway can move ahead in 2020. Consultants have been appointed to oversee the project for building the bridge over the Shannon. Having a local office in Ballinasloe may also help encourage local support for the Greenway across east Galway. Due to entrenched opposition, the section of the Dublin Galway Greenway through Galway was paused back in 2015 by the then minister of transport Pascal Donohue. Funds for the project were reallocated to the royal canal greenway in Kildare and Meath. These sections have now been completed which means that there is a continuous greenway

According to recent reports in the Shannonaide news, a new bridge across the Shannon in Athlone for the Dublin Galway greenway will open in two years. This is according to Michael Kelly, who’s a senior executive engineer with Westmeath council, and who’s co-ordinating the entire greenway from Dublin to Galway. Works are taking place this weekend to make an underpass for the greenway under a railway bridge, and this will then allow work to begin to bring the cycling and walking trail from just outside the town right into the centre, and down to Athlone marina.