Big majority at Duleek meeting oppose path of new motorway

The planned 75km motorway - the Leinster Orbital Route - which will stretch from Drogheda to Newbridge through County Meath met strong opposition from Duleek residents when they met local public representatives in the village to discuss its possible impact. The motorway is planned to link Drogheda and Newbridge as an 'outer M50' and is in the early stages of planning. So far, a 2km-wide 'corridor' has been identified from which the final route will be chosen. Residents and environmentalists say the motorway as planned would have an adverse effect on the northern environs of the village, around the Commons area and the High Meadows residential estate. At a meeting organised by independent local councillor Seamus O'Neill, and attended by up to 60 people, there were lively exchanges over the way the motorway could affect the village. It appeared there was an overwhelming majority of people at the meeting in opposition to the present plan. While there was some support for the concept of the motorway, many people wanted the route corridor to be moved from its present position. Public representatives at the meeting included Deputy Thomas Byrne, Cllrs Jimmy Cudden, Wayne Harding and Tommy Reilly. Deputy Byrne told the meeting that although the National Roads Authority (NRA) had said there was no money to build the motorway in the near future and that it could be years away, he nevertheless pleaded with people to look positively on the development and to take into account that it could be of huge benefit to Duleek in the long run. Joe Gibbons, an engineer who lives in the village, gave a presentation on planning aspects of the motorway. He said land within the 2km corridor would be sterilised while a decision was awaited on the final direction of the road. He asked why the Duleek or northern end of the motorway had just one corridor at this stage while the Kildare end had four corridors. He said areas affected included in the corridor were Platin, Duleek urban centre, Thomastown Bog, Duleek Business Park and the railway line. The NRA had said that it should be able to put the corridor through despite a number of "constraints" in its way. "The current corridor impacts very considerably on Duleek. There is an alternative option for the village but it is not included in the NRA's report," Mr Gibbons said. Cllr O'Neill said that the first time he had seen the plan, he considered it a "no, no". There had been no public consultation on the issue, he said. Deputy Byrne said he had concerns about what was being portrayed in the media about the plan. There was no planning proposal for the building of the road. The NRA had said it had no funds to build it but he wanted people to look at the motorway in a positiive light. People had been calling for a bypass for the village for a long time and this was one way of providing it. "There is no motorway coming through the village of Duleek, contrary to what has been said. The NRA has said it would bypass the villages and towns rather than go through them. It seems to me that there is a fear in the village that is being whipped up," he added. He was challenged by Mr Gibbons who said that, as far as he was concerned, the NRA report was a "final one" and the corridor would not be shifted High Meadows resident Bernard Mohan said if the plan went through, his house would "end up as part of the left lane of the motorway". He said some people had said the plan would not go through "but 26,000 people signed a petition against the incinerator but An Bord Pleanala upheld it". He called on more people from Duleek to oppose the plan. "We are not opposed to the motorway but we are against where it is going," he said.