Dundalk Newry Linkup Delay
It's disappointing news that the linkup between the Dublin/Dundalk M1 Motorway and Newry/Belfast M1 will be delayed until at least 2010.
It's was rather surprising 10 years ago when the single carriageway by-pass was opened between Cloghogue Chapel, and the Mourne Country hotel roundabout, that a little more 'future' thinking wasn't used in preparation for the eventual motorway link-ups.
It will now cost £102M to replace the by-pass with a seven mile stretch of 'near motorway' type of dual carriageway during which 10 houses will be demolished and there are twelve objectors to the route from the Sheepbidge Inn to Cloughogue.
If the route passes successfully through the planning stages, work could begin next spring. Meanwhile work is rapidly progressing from Sheepbrige Inn to Sprucefield where it joins the original M1.
The original section from Sprucefield to Belfast was far ahead of it's time, when constructed in the early 1960's, and there is an 'Urban Myth' that some of it's straight sections were to be used by the US Air Force in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union, back when things were not quite so cosy between the two powers.
It's was rather surprising 10 years ago when the single carriageway by-pass was opened between Cloghogue Chapel, and the Mourne Country hotel roundabout, that a little more 'future' thinking wasn't used in preparation for the eventual motorway link-ups.
It will now cost £102M to replace the by-pass with a seven mile stretch of 'near motorway' type of dual carriageway during which 10 houses will be demolished and there are twelve objectors to the route from the Sheepbidge Inn to Cloughogue.
If the route passes successfully through the planning stages, work could begin next spring. Meanwhile work is rapidly progressing from Sheepbrige Inn to Sprucefield where it joins the original M1.
The original section from Sprucefield to Belfast was far ahead of it's time, when constructed in the early 1960's, and there is an 'Urban Myth' that some of it's straight sections were to be used by the US Air Force in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union, back when things were not quite so cosy between the two powers.
posted by Editor at 3:09 p.m.
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