‘Minister Eamon Ryan should be brought down here and shown the mess that has been made for local people’

A MEATH farmer who faces the choice of bringing heavy farm machinery through the centre of Drogheda or illegally taking in onto the motorway is among the angry local residents who have vowed to continue their campaign to have tolls suspended on the M1 for local motorists.

The closure of the Obelisk bridge at Oldbridge has left a local woman facing a €1,000 toll bill for the duration of the closure, while a minibus driver faces a €76 bill a week for tolls.

A public meeting will take pace in the D Hotel on 18th September, as the cost of the closure continues to take a toll on local residents.

Patrick Howard farms land on both sides of the bridge.

"The only way I can get from land on one side to the other is by the M1 motorway - which is illegal . The alternative is to bring heavy farm machinery into the centre of Drogheda.

"I am going to have to break the law and use the motorway - I need to cross the river two or three times a day paying tolls each time.

"Local people should have been given a free pass on the motorway while the work is taking place."

Patrick believes the best solution would have been to build a new bridge on the Slane side of the existing bridge and leave the old road and historic bridge for walkers and cyclists.

"As Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan would need to be brought down here and shown the mess that has been made for local people," he said.

Lorraine Cunningham lives in Duleek and travels to Castleblaney for her job as a community worker.

"I can either pay the toll both ways or go through the town of Drogheda, which adds 40 minutes to every journey.

"I have been using it for the last 15 years. If I had been using the toll bridge, I would have spent €15,000 in that period. "As a community worker, my salary does not allow any expenses towards these charges or towards petrol. I will be traveling through the town of Drogheda as I refuse to pay these charges along with motor tax, high car insurance and maintenance on my car to enable me to get to work.

"Once again workers are being totally pushed to the brink by this government.

"The traffic in Drogheda is unbelievable and this will cause even more chaos."

The closure is a major inconvenience and financial burden on motorists, according to Frank Godfrey of Donore, a former Mayor Drogheda.

He has spoken to the owner of a minibus who makes two return trips daily to Ardee and now faces an additional cost of €76 as he has to use the tolled section of the M1 motorway for a short distance.

"Against the background of rising fuel and other costs for motorists, this is one additional financial burden the owner has not been able to budget for."

"I spoke to a man whose son is living near Mitchell’s pub on the Slane-Drogheda Road who works in Oldbridge and made the short journey to work in minutes. Now it takes him double the time.

"A man who used the bridge to travel from Donore to Slane expressed concern about having to drive the narrow road from Donore past Bru na Boinne to get to his work in Slane. He told me that throughout the year you run the risk of meeting tourists driving on the wrong side and he fears the winter when driving conditions will make the road even more hazardous."

A local taxi driver told Frank how fares will inevitably rise for taxi users, as journey times increase in the affected areas.

"A new bridge should be constructed which could deal with heavier traffic in a safer manner. Such a bridge could bypass the short, twisty and dangerous stretch between the gates of Oldbridge House and the bridge under repair which could be re-purposed for walkers and cyclists.

Locals recall a near fatal incident some years back when a car slipped into the unprotected Boyne Canal on this stretch. Repairing the bridge doesn’t remove that risk," he said.