First section of M3 opens

A section of the M3 has opened up in a temporary capacity between Clonee and the Pace Interchange. Northbound traffic is now diverted onto a 2.5km stretch of newly constructed motorway which exits onto the old road at the Pace Interchange. Southbound traffic is now diverted onto the motorway at Pace. The existing N3, south of Pace, is closed to facilitate construction of the Bracetown overbridge, part of the M3 motorway scheme. Local Dail deputy Mary Wallace has welcomed this positive step and said she was delighted the new M3 is progressing at such a rate. Deputy Wallace said: "The plan is for the M3 to open in late June or early July. Dunshaughlin will also get their village back when the Dunshaughlin bypass comes into operation. This will be brilliant for commuters from the greater Navan area, Dunshaughlin and Fairyhouse Cross and for all commuters in the area travelling to the city centre." Ms Wallace said that the €700 million project will be a major asset to commuters and also to residents living on the many roads being used as unofficial bypasses in the Skryne, Ratoath, Kilbride, Dunsany and Batterstown areas of the county. Deputy Wallace has highlighted the huge benefits already experienced with the opening of the Dunboyne bypass which has made a major difference to residents in Dunboyne village and to motorists travelling from the N3 to Maynooth. Dunboyne Cllr Noel Leonard also welcomed the development which, he said, was a major step further along the road to the full opening of the M3. Cllr Leonard added: "The Dunboyne bypass is open since early November and has given Dunboyne back to the people of Dunboyne. For years, Deputy Wallace and myself have campaigned for a HGV restriction throughout Dunboyne. In the early '90s, we held a protest meeting attended by 100 people who marched from Dunboyne Industrial Estate to Dunboyne Castle highlighting the number of HGVs using Dunboyne village as a rat run, which was further exaggerated when Maynooth introduced a weight restriction in Maynooth town. This problem is now solved with the relief road." There is one more job to be done, which is a slip road from the Dunboyne Relief Road into the Dunboyne Industrial Estate, added Cllr Leonard.