Motorists travelling south and west out of Dublin as well as commuters to and from Kildare will benefit from the new Newlands Cross flyover that was officially opened today and opens to traffic on Thursday.

The project in west Dublin, which aimed to eliminate one of the most notorious traffic bottlenecks in the State, has been handed over by Contractors Bam Civil, on budget and ahead of schedule.

The flyover which will carry up to 90,000 vehicles a day over the Belgard Road / Fonthill Road was unveiled by Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe and South Dublin mayor Fintan Warfield.

Both men praised the speed of construction of the 700 metre flyover which removes the last traffic light on the national road network between Newry and Cork.

The flyover crosses the regional R113 Belgard and Fonthill roads

The N7 is the Republic’s second-busiest road after the M50.

The scheme will reduce journey times significantly for interurban and local motorists, particularly commuters from Co Kildare and beyond.

The flyover comprises a two-span bridge structure with extensive approach embankments on the east and west sides of the junction. It will have three traffic lanes in each direction.

The materials for the embankment were sourced locally and environmentally friendly cement was used to minimise CO2 emissions.

The junction is part of a public-private partnership (PPP) project operated by Bam Contractors that includes building and maintaining the Arklow- to-Rathnew motorway in Co Wicklow.

The NRA has not disclosed the cost of the PPP but Bam Contractors’ website put the combined value of the Wicklow and Dublin elements at €126 million, without land costs.

The opening of the Newlands Cross junction was previously scheduled for spring 2015 but this was brought forward when better-than-expected progress was made.