Great Western Greenway
The Great Western Greenway is a 'greenway' rail trail in County Mayo. It is 26 miles long, beginning in Westport and ending at Achill, passing through the towns of Newport and Mulranny as it runs along the coast of Clew Bay.[1]
The route is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers.[2] It follows the route of the former Achill extension of the Westport railway line, which was constructed in the 1890s and closed in 1937.[3]
The trail was constructed at a cost of €5.7 million.[4] The first section, from Newport to Mulranny, was opened in April 2010.[5] Currently about 300 people use the trail each day.
The full route was opened in July 2011.[4]
After reconstruction of part of the N59 at Kilbride,[6] and completed in September 2013, a section of the greenway that originally shared space on the road with cars and other traffic, is now safely segregated. However, there remains a 1-mile (2-kilometre) section through Newport town where greenway users share road space with other traffic.
See also
Outside links
References
- ↑ Trail Map: Great Western Greenway
- ↑ Great Western Greenway
- ↑ History: Great Western Greenway
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 'Rail line becomes cycling track': Tom Shiel in The Irish Times 30 July 2011
- ↑ "Greenway funding is boost for Mayo tourism". Mayo Advertiser. 17 September 2010. http://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/31094. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ↑ "Minister Ring officially opens Kilbride section of the N59 Westport to Mulranny". Press release. http://www.dttas.ie/press-releases/2013/minister-ring-officially-opens-kilbride-section-n59-westport-mulranny. Retrieved 2015-12-28.