An underpass that will form part of the Great Western Greenway and allow greenway users to avoid crossing Westports N5 northern bypass at grade is due to open later this week.Cllr Peter Flynn (Fine Gael) said: Five years of lobbying and finally, its happening! The underpass connecting the greenway routes out of town to Atterish, and the main greenway to and from Newport will open in the coming week.The at-grade road crossing (pictured below) has been in place since the N5 Northern Relief Road opened as part of the wider N5 Westport to Turlough Road Project. The underpass was built as part of the project, but the northern connection to the underpass was not finished at the time.This might look like a relatively small piece of infrastructure, but for West Mayo it is a really important improvement, he said.Cllr Flynn said: For the past three years, cyclists and pedestrians have had to negotiate the N59 and Northern Relief Road. Frankly, it is a small miracle that we havent seen a serious accident on this section, particularly given the number of visitors using the greenway who were unfamiliar with the road layout.Thankfully, that is now history. People will have a safe route in and out of town exactly what greenway infrastructure should be about, he said.Cllr Flynn thanked Mayo County Council staff who worked and landowners who facilitated the works. And while we hear some politicians talking about greenways as if they are yesterdays infrastructure, I believe the opposite is true. We should be investing more in them, not less. Happily, we will see similar happening in Newport next year which again will be a massive addition to both locals and visitors, he said.Cllr Flynn added: A greenway is not just a tourist attraction. It is infrastructure for everyday life giving children a safer route to school, people a healthier way to get to work, families a safe way to get to the shops, and young and old a way to get to sporting and community facilities. It reduces car dependency, improves health and saves people money. That is why projects like this matter.