Severe accident risk remains without Slane bypass, engineer tells hearing

The recent partial collapse of part of Slane bridge was due to the prolonged use of the bridge by heavy vehicles, the design engineer for the Slane bypass project told the opening day of the Bord Plenala oral hearing into the route this week. Seamus Mac Gaerailt said the bridge was a long-recognised location for traffic accidents. He said the current traffic management measures in the village and at the bridge had only bought time and were not the long-term solution to the traffic problems in the area. He said that, without a bypass, severe accident risks would continue. Banning heavy goods vehicles from Slane or diverting them off the N2 at other locations was not a feasible option. he added. The 17-day public hearing began taking presentations and submissions from supporters and opponents of the project yesterday (Tuesday). The proposed bypass provides for a 3.5km long dual carriageway to be constructed to the east of Slane village from a point 0.4km north of McGruder's Cross at Johnstown, south of the village, to a point north of the village, at Mooretown, which is 0.3km south of Littlewood. The road would cross the Boyne over a new bridge to be built approximately 1.1km east of the existing bridge. Supporters of the project claim it is needed for road safety reasons as the current road and bridge has been the scene of more than 20 fatal and other serious road crashes. Opponents claim the new scheme would have a detrimental effect on the local landscape, especially the historic Brú na Boinne site at Newgrange. The hearing is being held at the Boyne Valley Hotel, outside Drogheda, by An Bord Pleanála, which will decide whether or not to grant planning approval for the project. Mr Mac Gearailt said that it had been hard to plan a bypass for Slane because of the constraints imposed by the landscape and ecology of the Boyne Valley and the sites of archaeological and architectural heritage, including Brú na Bóinne, local features such as Ledwidge Cottage and unknown archaeological sites yet to be investigated. He said that the route option chosen would cut by one-third (5,800) the number of vehicles travelling through Slane per day and remove almost all heavy goods vehicles from the village. There would also be a reduction of four minutes in journey times for traffic using the N2, he said but conceded that, while traffic noise would be reduced and air quality would be improved in the village, there would be some increased noise in rural areas. On the opening day of the oral hearing, Meath County Council was accused of trying to ambush opponents of the N2 bypass. Environmentalist Peter Sweetman claimed that a report on the project's impact on Brú na Boinne by an international expert, Dr Douglas Comer, should have been made available prior to the proceedings. Mr Sweetman, who is representing a number of groups, accused the council of failing to honour a guarantee given at a preliminary hearing to have Dr Comer's report available prior to the oral hearing. “This document is being held back to ambush us,†he said. He claimed the report had been sought by An Bord Pleanála under a request for further information on the project and, without it, the hearing should be halted and the application for the project should be refused. Planning inspector Michael Walsh, who is chairing the hearing for Bord Pleanála, said the board had not directed the council to have the report carried out but had recommended that an expert be retained to prepare such a report. Dermot Flanagan, SC, for Meath County Council, said the report was not yet available, as Dr Comer was attending the hearing and wanted to hear the council's presentations before finalising his report, which would then be available on Thursday. Dr Comer is due to outline his report in detail to the hearing on Monday. Replying to Colm †hEochaidh, SC, for former Attorney General John Rogers, who is opposed to the bypass route, Mr Walsh said that An Bord Pleanála had yet decided whether or not the environmental impact statement provided by the council was adequate. However, he said he was proceeding with the hearing.