Money squeeze likely to hit N4 upgrade plans

Financial constraints may lead to delays in the N4 Mullingar to Roosky dual carriageway as the National Roads Authority (NRA) have been instructed to prioritise projects by the Department of Finance.Speaking on Tuesday, NRA Head of Communications Sean O"Neill said they are going to be 'reviewing all individual projects'. The review will be conducted with special emphasis on the progress of projects, he said that explaining that anything at construction stage will go ahead, but other road schemes will be assessed on an individual basis with projects in more advanced stages of planning being prioritised.Although the NRA will undertake this review, Mr. O"Neill was eager to state that none of the projects have been cancelled, but will instead be re-evaluated on an individual basis.Meanwhile, the N4 Concerned Working Group are meeting in the Annebrook Hotel this Thursday to discuss an environment and planning consultants report on the proposed green route for the Mullingar to Roosky dual carriageway.Members of the N4 Concerned Working Group have invited NRA officials, local Councillors and members of Westmeath County Council to attend the meeting.Established last September, the N4 Concerned Working Group represents a large number of residents and business people who live along the proposed 'green route', one of three currently under consideration by Westmeath County Council and the NRA.Members of the group believe that Government money would be better spent on new safety measures and upgrading work along the present route than on building a new road. They also believe the choice of the green route would have a detrimental effect on areas of conservation along the proposed route.'The group is also extremely concerned that the green route option conflicts with national and European policies designed to protect our heritage and environment, and that the need for an improved road could be better met by utilising the existing corridor.''Furthermore, upgrading the existing road could be less costly, could be completed more quickly, could preserve and enhance the considerable investment made to date in improving the route, and could provide a much better return on investment than the proposed dual carriageway on a new greenfield route,' the group said.Among the conclusions contained in the consultants" report is the contention that the feasibility study for the route failed to take into account the effects of the economic recession when dealing with traffic projections.The report also claims the proposed road scheme is in conflict with 'all of the principle policies of transportation in Ireland, and with European Union policy on transport'.The construction of a road along the green route would also impact on Scragh Bog, a Special Area of Conservation, and the route would be the longest and most expensive of the three proposed routes, the group said.The N4 Concerned Working Group are meeting with the authors of the report in The Annebrook Hotel in Mullingar this Thursday, April 2 at 8pm.The report was compiled by Jack O"Sullivan of Environmental Management Services, Cormac Rabbitt, Cormac Rabbitt Associates, Dr Paul Johnston from the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College and Noreen McLoughlin of Whitehall Environmental.