Without new traffic management system upgraded M50 will be gridlocked as soon as it opens, Greens claim

"During the construction period the National Roads Authority will have the time to design a completely new traffic management system for the motorway. If they fail to do this, the new eight lane highway ? and its massive spaghetti junctions ? will be gridlocked as soon they open."

"In giving permission for the M50 upgrade, An Bord Pleanála set a condition that within three years of the completion of the first phase of works, a new traffic management plan would be presented. Given the works timetable set out by the NRA yesterday, these plans will have to be presented by 2010 at the latest, which is the same time the full upgrade is due to be completed."

"Bord Pleanála inserted the condition as forecasts for the motorway had shown traffic volumes doubling and the road being subject to severe congestion and gridlock as soon as it opened. Engineers from the NRA, the Dublin Transportation Office and Arup consultants all agreed that the best way of solving this problem would be to introduce a multi-point system of electronic variable tolling which would be designed to manage traffic on the road rather than to raise revenues."

"The Government has refused to recognise this problem and pretends that buying out the West-link toll plaza will have a positive effect on the overall operation of the motorway. Having created the problems in the first place by allowing improper re-zoning along the M50, Fianna Fail are now ignoring the traffic management issue in the hope it will be forgotten about until after the next election," concluded Deputy Ryan.