THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY MINISTER SHANE ROSS THAT THE ARDEE BYPASS IS TO GO AHEAD IN 2018 WILL COME AS A BIG BOOST TO MOTORISTS. REPORTS ON THE PROJECT
MURPHY HUBERT
THE ongoing traffic nightmare in Ardee is set to be a thing of the past after funding for the €20m western bypass project was approved by Minister Shane Ross last week. But now the awareness campaign begins as Ardee starts the process of selling itself when the heavy traffic leaves.
The new bypass will take hundreds of vehicles off the main street and is expected to begin in the middle of 2018. It will be an 18 month project from start to finish.
‘ The total estimated cost of this bypass is €20 million and the proposed bypass will be a single carriageway and will include six road junctions and two bridge structures spanning the River Dee and the Garra River. This will greatly improve the safety of all who travel on the road, connectivity for local communities and will significantly reduce travel times,’ Minister Ross stated.
He thanked local independent Councillors Jim Tenanty, Kevin Callan and Maeve Yore as well as Fergus O’Dowd T.D. for their considerable efforts in ensuring that the Ardee Bypass was a priority for both he and his department.
He said, ‘ The Ardee Bypass will have a hugely beneficial impact on traffic congestion and will also be of immense benefit to all motorists in the Louth and Monaghan regions.’
Fine Gael TD for Louth and East Meath, Fergus O’Dowd said it took a lot of hard work to secure the project,
‘My colleague Councillor Dolores Minogue and I have been working extremely hard to deliver this project over the last three years and I’m delighted that we have helped get the project to the start line, we must continue to prioritise this issue until we see the project completed.
‘ The Ardee Bypass is a vital infrastructure project for the people of Ardee and Mid Louth, traffic congestion in particular has become unbearable in the town itself, having a major impact on the traders of the town.
‘ The Bypass will finally give the town the opportunity to reach its potential; in particular it will rid the town of the unwanted congestion and HGV traffic that has plighted trade in the town over the last number of years.’
He said he canvassed the traders recently with Cllr Minogue and said the lack of a bypass is ‘quite clearly one of the major hindrances to trade in the town. Many people avoid the town completely as they don’t want to sit in traffic for 15-20 minutes to visit a local store.’
The proposed bypass scheme is approximately 4.5km in length, running from Mandistown in County Meath to a new junction with the N2 just north of Ardee, providing a western bypass of the town and removing N52 through traffic.
Cllr Dolores Minogue added: “I’m delighted that we have finally secured the Ardee Bypass for the people of Ardee and Mid Louth. We have been campaigning for years now to increase transport capacity in the area and improve road and pedestrian safety.
‘ This project will go a long way to delivering a better quality of life for Ardee residents by removing unnecessary congestion, noise and pollutants form the town centre. The town also has the chance now to go from strength to strength by making it a much more desirable location for people to shop and spend.’
Independent Councillors Kevin Callan and Jim Tenanty said the project will be ‘ the largest infrastructure project in the Mid Louth Area since the foundation of the State’.
‘Myself and Jim Tenanty made it our number one priority to push this matter with Minister Ross who as a fellow independent was anxious to deliver for an area which had received many false promises and where people had formed the view that the bypass would never get started.
‘Following a year of meetings and pushing we see a result that will totally transform Ardee and free up the town from so much congestion. We are very grateful to the Minister who has given us so much time and effort in getting this project delivered’.