Drogheda Borough Council is considering putting a weight restriction on the former Dublin-Belfast road that runs through the town because of the large number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that continue to use it to avoid paying the toll on the M1 motorway.
While the restriction would effectively ban HGVs that did not have business in the town, it would not be practical, according to some people in Drogheda. They say it would result in all heavy goods trucks having to be stopped to establish their destinations.
The former N1 has now been declassified and is a regional road, the R132. As such, its maintenance is the responsibility of Drogheda Borough Council, which recently met the National Roads Authority.
The NRA was given the results of a survey by the council, which found that 50 per cent of the heavy goods vehicles using the main Dublin-Belfast road are turning off the motorway and driving through Drogheda to avoid the toll charges.
In September 2003, the survey found 2,180 HGVs travelled through the town, or around 10 per cent of the total traffic passing through. By November that had dropped but still stood at 1,200 or 5 per cent of daily traffic.
The figures were based on traffic counts done between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and do not include the significant number of HGVs that use it at other times.
It has also been confirmed that the price of the tolls is to increase on the Drogheda bypass. The cost for a car is going up by 10 cent to €1.60 from January 1st.
Meanwhile, work is expected to start shortly on the next stage of motorway running towards the Border, within weeks of the NRA signing the contract for the PPP project with the Celtic Roads Group. The 12km route will continue the M1 from Dundalk to the Ballymascanlon area just north of the town and will carry over 25,000 vehicles a day. It is expected to cost close to €110 million to construct.
A lot of preliminary work has already taken place on the route and in addition to constructing the road, the Celtic Roads Group will operate the tolls on the Drogheda bypass and maintain both roads.