Slane a toll dodge for HGVs

Dear sir - It is indeed a tragedy that Slane is forced to deal with such traffic that is quite frankly untenable for such a small town. Indeed, the Fianna Fail government has done Meath a continuing disservice, with a Meath transport minister that should have know better, yet seemed to be ignorant not only to the needs of his constituents but to the nature of the landscape in which he grew up. The fact is the route through Slane goes nowhere. Traffic to Derry should be on the M1 and to Cavan along the M3. It is merely a toll dodge for HGV traffic and the new minister needs to immediately call in both toll operators and the road hauliers association to sort out a deal which will allow HGV traffic to use these roads without becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, the continuing taxpayer funded bailout of these toll roads leave him little room to manoeuvre though perhaps a toll operator tax may be in order? One can only wonder why any minister would have signed off on a deal that was guaranteed to make the taxpayer a loss. The Lenister Orbital routed North of Navan and Slane, and an upgraded R125 with M1, M2, M3 arteries to Dublin, was always the road Meath needed and could have been happily implemented with little controversy and ample room for development along this important North-South Corridor. Since the Lenister Orbital basically mimics the route the M3 should have took from Dunshaughlin to Navan, we can also re-route the M3 away from both the vulnerable Rath Lugh monument and the fog-prone Blundelstown interchange with a mere 8km link road and reconnecting with the M3 to bypass Navan, saving 5 kms of road. There is no reason that the Navan rail line should not be included in this project. With this pause in the madness, perhaps it is time for the new minister to examine Meath transport policy with a fresh eye. Yours , Pauline Bleach 50 Egan Street, Newtown, NSW 2042.