Duleek road-sign chaos angers traders

Misleading signage for the road works in Duleek caused chaos for motorists trying to access the village last week. Local councillor Jimmy Cudden said the signage for the Navan Road closure was 'misleading' and that he has raised the issue with Meath County Council and asked them to correct it as quickly as possible. Two road blocks on the Main Street were removed at the weekend but the latest road block on the Navan Road at the top of the village was erected early last week and is expected to be in place for three to five weeks. Cllr Cudden said that coming from Curtis"s Cross on the N2, there is a sign saying Duleek Village is closed and that there is local access only. 'People may think they can keep going if they are visiting someone there, for example, and then you come to Mullaghfinn Cross where it says that the village is closed until 1st December and that there is local access only, and motorists keep going again,' he said, speaking to the Meath Chronicle on Friday. Cllr Cudden said it is only when they come to the football pitch that they realise the road is closed and they can"t go any further. 'This has happened a lot in the last 48 hours,' he said. 'This has caused more problems than anything else. The signage on the N2 and at Mullaghfinn Cross for the latest closure at the top of the village is misleading,' he said. The road closure is also causing huge inconvenience for residents living on the Navan Road and estates such as the Belfry, as they face a 12-mile round trip to get to the village, even though they are only a quarter of a mile away. People were also angry that they were not notified that the road was to close in advance and the road had closed before they received notification. 'By the time the clerk of works got the notices delivered to the houses on the Navan Road, the contractor had already closed the road, causing annoyance for the local people who didn"t know in advance,' said Cllr Cudden. 'It is annoying everyone. They arrive around the corner and the see the village but they can"t get through. They have to turn the car and go to Mullaghfinn Cross and either turn left towards Balrath and go back towards Duleek via the Trim Road or turn right to Lougher and towards Downestown. Some people have told that it is a round trip of 12 miles no matter what way you go,' he said. The road closures are necessary because of the major sewerage upgrade scheme that is under way in Duleek and are due to continue until 1st December. For the past six weeks, Main Street has been blocked in two places - near the business park and also outside the civic offices. However, the blocks were lifted and the road re-opened on Friday evening. A further block was set up at the Navan Road close to the village early last week. At one stage, the Trim Road was the only road coming into the village that was open but then motorists hit a block at the church and civic offices. The only way to continue towards the lower end of the village was via Abbeylands, a housing estate and Cllr Cudden said this 'brought its own problems as the volume of traffic hugely increased'. 'Fair play to the people. They had to put up with a lot. Drivers were speeding up in frustration and it was dangerous, there is no doubt about that. Abbeylands suffered greatly for six weeks but, thankfully, there was no accident, though, I think that was more by luck than anything else'. Cllr Cudden also commented on the amount of people who keep going past the 'road closed' signs until they can go no further and have to turn back. 'I stopped at the civic offices one day and some drivers went through three sets of signs telling them the road was closed until they could not go any further and had to turn around'. Business is well down for traders but Cllr Cudden said they accept and understand that the work needs to be done. He added that they have requested that the month of December would be free of roadworks to allow them some chance for the Christmas trade. He explained that before the works started, a meeting had been arranged between the contractor, council officials and members of the business community outlining the programme of works. 'There were many questions and while they would prefer if the works weren"t happening, the traders accept and understand that the works are necessary,' he said,. He also said that works were progressing well on Main Street and that the contractors may get finished on the street quicker than they thought.