Galway County Council says it hopes to submit a planning application for a proposed ring road to An Bord Pleanála by the end of February.

Documentation covering Compulsory Purchase Orders would be included in the material to be submitted.

The proposed N6 Galway City Transport project envisages the construction of both dual and single carriage way routes, to alleviate traffic congestion in the area.

The application is subject to Government approval and needs to be signed off by the Department of Transport as well as the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

All affected landowners have been notified in the last year.

Between 40 and 50 properties are located on the proposed route, which runs from the east side of the city to a location close to the village of Bearna.

Once the application is placed before the planning board it will be subject to an oral hearing. It is anticipated that there will be legal challenges to the decision in due course.

A so-called "preferred corridor" was identified for the ring road in 2015. It was chosen after six possible routes were made public earlier that year.

The proposal envisages the construction of a dual carriageway from the end of the M6 as far as the existing N59, with the route continuing by single lane to a termination point west of Bearna.

It would commence with a new interchange at the end of the M6 and involve a section of tunnel on the approach to Galway Racecourse.

The road would then continue westwards towards the Corrib, with a second section of tunnel en route - and cross the river on a new bridge.

Planners hope to traverse lands at NUI Galway on a viaduct, before veering towards the Bushy Park area.

They say the preferred corridor does not impact on habitats that are protected under EU law.

A previous effort to construct a bypass was abandoned in 2013, after rulings that it would have environmental implications.

The local authority says that the planned development would take a considerable volume of traffic out of the city and so allow for an enhanced bus network on existing roads.

Galway County Council - the lead agency for the project - says it has been designed to be robust enough to withstand any possible challenge.

As well as residents along the routes, the Chamber of Commerce and NUI Galway have beensteadfast in their opposition to a route that goes close to the city centre.

Other opponents say the potential for a public transport solution has not been fully examined.