Carlingford Greenway to be completed in 2021

THE first cross-border section of the Carlingford Lough Greenway, going from Victoria Lock to Omeath will be completed in the first quarter of 2021, councillors heard at last week’s meeting of the Municipal District of Dundalk.

A presentation by Doran Consulting Engineers on Tuesday night outlined how a 6.6km stretch from Victoria Lock to Omeath will be the first cross-border section of the Greenway, which will eventually form part of the Great Eastern Greenway stretching from Dublin to Belfast.

It follows on the already completed sections from Carlingford Marina to Omeath village and from the Albert Basin in Newry to Victoria Lock which opened last year.

The Greenway will be constructed from similar materials as those already used in existing sections, with fine gravel and areas of asphalt where needed, and timber fencing.

It will cling to the shoreline between Omeath and Victoria Lock.

Work will also be carried out on improving 1.3km of linkages from the Marina to Carlingford town centre. It will follow the existing footpath along the water and through the town. Traffic calming measures will be put in place to reduce speed to 30kmp in the village.

The presentation was welcomed by Cllr Antoin Watters who wondered if there were any contingency plans for Brexit.

Cllr Maeve Yore asked if they were getting much co-operation from landowners.

Senior Engineer Catherine Duff said the local authority was working behind the scenes to reach consensus with the landowners.

The Council is holding a public information session on Tuesday, February 19 from 12 noon to 8pm in The Station House. Carlingford. Members of the project team will be on hand to answer questions.

It is intended that Part 8 planning permission for these sections of the Greenway will be sought in early March.