Access and relief roads open in Navan

A NEW 4km access road for Navan, Co Meath, opens this morning in tandem with the official opening of Navan’s inner relief road.

The two new roads will provide a bypass of Navan town centre for traffic on the Delvin, Co Westmeath, to Drogheda, Co Louth, route.

The two roads are expected to save up to 20 minutes for traffic bypassing Navan town, while heavy goods vehicles congestion in the town is expected to reduce.

The combined route is expected to carry 7,000 vehicles a day.

The Navan inner relief route has been on the drawing boards for about 15 years, and after several false starts it was to have been completed in 2006. However, the project was hit by delays and construction difficulties.

The delays led to heightened congestion in Navan, particularly at peak times and at weekends when gardaí were regularly required to be on point duty at a junction close to Navan hospital.

The inner relief route was partially opened to traffic last January.

The 4km new access route utilises the Athboy interchange and slip roads which are being built as part of the M3 motorway scheme. As such, it is the first part of the M3 scheme to open to traffic.

A spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA) acknowledged delays with the inner relief road section of the new route, adding that delays were “unusual nowadays” in national road schemes.

However, he said, in contrast, the second 4km of access route being opened today “was actually built as part of the M3 scheme, so it is the first part of the M3 scheme to open”.