The opening today of the final 57km of the M17 M18 motorway will not only bring immediate economic benefits to towns and cities along the Atlantic Economic Corridor but it will support the development of the entire Shannon basin and act as the mobility backbone that improves the north-south flow along the Wild Atlantic Way.
Shannon Group and Shannon Airport believed the opening of the M18 Gort to Tuam motorway will provide an unprecedented opportunity to advance the case of a western economic corridor.
The opening of the Gort to Tuam section of the M17/M18 motorway ahead of schedule will give investors an alternative to Dublin and Leinster and provide access to a larger population and labour markets in the west of Ireland including Co Clare.
The decision by Transport Infrastructure Ireland to select a site for a Motorway Service Area on the M18 near Newmarket on Fergus is designed to suck local business from the Ennis Shannon commuter belt rather than service normal motorway traffic.