New route for the Slane bypass finally revealed
THE new preferred route for the Slane Bypass has been revealed and will take traffic to the east of the village.
A number of options were considered, but it was felt the chosen route will have less of an impact on the area and the nearby Bru na Boinne site.
The new route is 3.4km long and runs from the existing N2 at a location 500m north of McGruder’s crossroads. It continues through Fenner and Crewbane and the route crosses the Boyne 630m east of the existing Slane Bridge. It then goes on through the townlands of Cashel and Mooretown and passes Ledwidge Cottage on the Drogheda side. It rejoins the N2 some 4 to 5m north of the entrance to Grassland Agro Plant.
The decision came after much public consultation and now people are asked to give their views again on this preferred option. The full details can be seen on www. n2slanebypass.ie.
The planners looked at all aspects of traffic management before arriving at their decision.
That included a HGV ban in Slane and putting a toll on Slane Bridge. They also suggested a reduced toll at Junction 9 on the M1. They could have also banned the use of Slane bridge by HGVs.
Overall, 15 bypass maps were produced and they are whittled down to just a handful of real alternatives.
A western bypass was also on the cards, but deemed that it would impact in too many factors locally.
The new bridge over the Boyne will have the least impact on the river and will not be visible from Bru na Boinne.
Next year they will finalise the design and hope to go to An Bord Pleanala by the end of 2020.
Addressing the East Meath area meeting, Cllr Wayne Harding said the N2 was just ‘not fit for purpose’ anymore, while other councillors also see it as vital.