A crucial part of the N3 Belturbet Bypass was opened on Friday 2nd August 2013.
The section will reduce the volume of N3 traffic from the streets of Belturbet in time for the summer activities and festivals in this region and will offer road users a much safer alternative to the winding old road between Belturbet and Drumalore.
The road opens up through an area of extreme beauty along the banks of the River Erne and Puthiagan Lake improving road safety and reducing travel times to this busy corridor on the West of Ireland.
This significant stretch of the scheme has involved completing the section between Drumalure and Belturbet, including twenty three side and access roads, and the 141m long River Erne Bridge.
An important feature of the N3 Butlersbirdge to Belturbet Scheme, the River Erne bridge is the first of its kind to be built in Ireland and one of only a few worldwide. It is a hybrid between a conventional cable stayed bridge and an externally prestressed bridge.
[Ferrovial Agroman N3 Opening Erne Bridge] With this milestone delivery, 70% of the N3 Butlersbridge to Belturbet Scheme is now open to the public traffic. Completion of the scheme is expected for early 2014 and will include the section involving the Aghnaguig Bog which represents one of the rarest types of woodland in Ireland and is where a major 3 span bridge totalling 250m in length is under construction by Ferrovial Agroman.
The client, Cavan County Council awarded the N3 Butlersbridge to Belturbet Scheme to Ferrovial Agroman in April 2011. The contract includes 6.7 km of national carriageway and two significant bridges – the Aghnaguig Bog Bridge and the River Erne bridge.
