The route was first mooted almost 15 years ago.
There are fears a near-decade-and-a-half-delay to a midlands road project will bring unnecessary costs to the State, if it's not included in next year's round of funding.
The new section of the N52 between Kilbeggan and Tullamore was first mooted back in 2009, but has been shelved a number of times since due to a lack of available money to progress the route.
The project has gone through the preferred selection stage twice already, and Laois Offaly Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen says they'll be back to the drawing board if it's not included in next year's round of funding.
He says there's a number of factors which make the progression of the route necessary:
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