There was an increase in heavy goods traffic through Drogheda and Slane yesterday as a result of the Irish Road Hauliers' Association decision to boycott the Drogheda bypass tolls.
"There was unanimous support for the boycott from the 1,500 hauliers who met to discuss what action to take," said Mr Jimmy Quinn of the IRHA.
He said the additional cost of the toll - €4.90 per truck each way - is simply too much and cannot be budgeted for by hauliers who already pay road tax and fuel tax.
"Our company sends 10 trucks a day, some twice a day, to Dublin and has a budget of €24,000 a year, but this is now up to €40,000 including both the Drogheda and West Link tolls," he said.
Another company, one of the largest in the country, estimates that the combined cost of the Drogheda, West Link and East Link tolls will be close to €100,000.
With only two weeks of respite since the tolls came into operation, Drogheda and Slane again saw a return to the continuous trundle of heavy trucks along its main roads.
"This will be an ongoing protest. It is not just for one day," the hauliers added. Slane also saw increased traffic as it is on the main Dublin-Derry road.
An ad-hoc survey done on local radio yesterday indicated that traffic through both Slane and Drogheda was heavier than usual during the morning.
According to the LMFM poll 220 articulated, rigid and box vehicles turned off the Drogheda bypass before the toll plazas and instead drove through the town, while in a half-hour period just 30 continued on the motorway, prepared to pay the toll.
Similar figures were reported for Slane, and until the IRHA sees some return for paying the tolls the situation is unlikely to change.
"If we had €20,000 a year credited to us against our road tax that would be a proposal, but at the moment the National Roads Authority, which sets the tolls, is not speaking to us," said Mr Quinn.
Mr Ruadhan Mac Eoin, speaking on behalf of An Taisce, urged road hauliers to end their boycott.
"Barely a week after the completion of its bypass, and the historic town of Drogheda is once more besieged by articulated lorries," he said. "Their point now made, An Taisce urges the Road Hauliers' Association to immediately call off the boycott."