VIDEO: Demolition of former Department of Agriculture building in Navan, making way for new link road
Demolition crews were busy at work this week demolishing the former Government building on the Navan-Kells road which will make way for a new link road across the Blackwater to Clonmagadden Road.
The site formerly housed the Department of Agriculture and the Navan Probation & Welfare Service team before a 2007 safety order forced the closure of the building. It's believed the structure was badly affected by damp and mould.
The building has been boarded up since the 2007 order and in its derelict state over the years became a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
Work is underway on the new road linking the Ratholdren and Kells Roads in Navan, bringing welcome relief to the traffic congestion in north Navan.
Works on the road, which will be known as LDR4 are expected to take 18 months.
The route will encroach on Blackwater Park, will shave two hectares off the edge of the amenity and will continue through the site of the old OPW building and emerge at the existing roundabout on the Kells Road.
At the moment, the only route into Navan from the north of the town is via the inner relief road, linking the Round O with the fire station.
The proposed scheme, which includes a bridge over the Blackwater will be 1.15km in length, consisting of two 3.25m wide lanes, 2m wide raised one-way cycle track on both sides and 2.5m wide footpaths on both sides.
The proposed alignment commences to the north with a proposed four-arm signalised junction on the L3409 Ratholdron Road replacing the existing Clonmagadden Road T-junction.
The alignment runs south across a small area of woodland and agricultural land. It then turns south east and follows broadly the western boundary of Blackwater Park.
From here, the alignment runs south and across the River Blackwater almost perpendicularly. The alignment continues southbound to the east of the residential properties at Blackwater Park.
It is expected that the road will open in Autumn 2024.