SERVICES
Preferred Route Corridors Announced for the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney and N2 Clontibret to Border Road Schemes
The Project Team announces its Preferred Route Corridors and would like to thank those who submitted feedback on the Emerging Preferred Route Corridors and engaged with the Team during the consultation which ran between August and October 2020.
Monaghan County Council is working in association with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to upgrade two sections of the N2/A5 Dublin-Derry Road. One of the projects, the Clontibret to Border road scheme, will upgrade a 28km section of the N2. Monaghan County Council is working in partnership with Louth County Council and TII on the second project – an upgrade of a 32km section of the N2 between Ardee and Castleblayney. Together with other improvements planned for the N2/A5 route, these proposed schemes will significantly improve transport connectivity along the N2 and provide safer and more efficient access to other strategic national roads. These are important projects to enhance key North/South and Regional connectivity and to improve road safety.
Monaghan County Council has appointed Jacobs Consulting Engineers (Jacobs) to advance the project through the planning and design process. Emerging Preferred Route Corridors were published for both projects in August 2020, and a period of public consultation ran until the 5th October 2020. The Project Team would like to sincerely thank the public for their feedback and engagement with them throughout the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor Consultation. Over 350 meetings were held with interested stakeholders throughout the consultation period, which included remote meetings and in-person physically-distanced meetings in venues in Monaghan Town and Carrickmacross. ‘We were delighted to have been able to offer members of the public an opportunity to talk with the N2 Project Team via telephone, video call or face to face appointment during our recent public consultation and would like to sincerely thank the public for engaging with the project team and giving their feedback.’ Said Patricia Monahan, Director of Services for Monaghan County Council.
Over 80 written submissions were received on the Clontibret to Border Road Scheme and over 180 on the Ardee to Castleblayney Road Scheme. A Post Consultation Report has now been prepared for each project, documenting the consultation process and outlining the type of feedback received – the Post Consultation Report is available to download from the project website www.N2MonaghanLouth.ie.
Following review and consideration of the submissions and feedback received, it was determined that there was no new and/or additional information of enough significance to necessitate an amendment to the previously presented Emerging Preferred Route Corridors for either scheme. Therefore, the Corridors presented at the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor consultation, without any amendments, have been selected as the Preferred Route Corridor Options. Option H: Green+Yellow+Orange is the Preferred Route Corridor Option (‘Preferred Option’) for the Clontibret to Border Road Scheme. On the Ardee to Castleblayney Road Scheme, Option A: Yellow, is the Preferred Route Corridor Option (‘Preferred Option’).
A map of the Preferred Route Corridor for each scheme is available to view on the project website www.N2MonaghanLouth.ie. A leaflet is also being delivered or posted to properties and registered landowners within the Preferred Route Corridors. The preferred Route Corridors are typically 400m wide, however they do not represent the actual width of the road scheme or the lands to be acquired – the corridor indicates the lands within which the N2 road scheme could be developed. The exact details of the land take, earthworks, junction and side road design and property impacts will be developed during the next Phase of the planning and design process.
An Option Selection Report, which documents the process of selecting the Preferred Route Corridors, has now been published for each road scheme and can be accessed by the public in the following ways;
- The reports can be viewed or downloaded from the project website (N2MonaghanLouth.ie). A digital copy of the report (on a memory stick) can be requested from the N2 Project Team for those who cannot download the report due to poor internet access.
- The reports can be viewed by appointment at Council Offices (subject to applicable government restrictions/ guidelines related to COVID-19). Please contact the N2 Project Team to request an appointment.
What happens next?
Subject to relevant approvals, further development of the scheme, including design of the road, identifying the landtake required, junction design and the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment can now progress. This next phase is planned to take place in 2021 and 2022.
In order to inform the design process, the N2 Project Team will first undertake a range of engineering and environmental site surveys on lands within and around the Preferred Route Corridors. The design team will be in contact with relevant landowners in relation to these surveys.
As the site surveys are completed, the initial design of the road can be progressed. When the design has reached a level of maturity where informed discussions can take place, the N2 Project Team will consult with directly impacted landowners in relation to the initial design and its impact on land and property. Stakeholders and the general public will be kept informed of progress as part of Monaghan and Louth County Council’s commitment to ongoing stakeholder engagement.
Any stakeholders who have queries about the upcoming design process can make contact with the project team by calling the N2 Project Phoneline on 087 340 3786, or by email ArdeeCastleblayney@N2MonaghanLouth.ie / ClontibretBorder@N2MonaghanLouth.ie.