Bridge over the River Blackwater will ‘transform’ Navan

Meath Co Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Tommy Reilly has welcomed the commencement of works on the new bridge over the River Blackwater and says it will be a huge asset to Navan once completed.

He said the bridge, which is part of a new link road between the Ratholdren and Kells Roads, will bring significant traffic congestion relief, while also giving the public pedestrian access to Blackwater Park from the west side of the town.

“It is great to see work started on the bridge, which is another step to completion of the outer orbital route of Navan town,” said Cllr Reilly.

Currently the only route into the town from the north Navan is via the inner relief road, linking the Round O pub with the fire station but once the stretch of new road is completed, Cllr Reilly said it will “transform” traffic flow in the town. The new road and bridge will be just over a kilometre in length and will also include a pathway and cycle lanes on both sides.

“The new bridge will take traffic from Ratholdren Road out on to the Kells Road, which will alleviate major traffic issues in the town,” added Cllr Reilly. Construction is expected to take 18 months to complete and while Cllr Reilly is thrilled to see it progress, he is disappointed that the town’s orbital route still has a long way to go to be fully completed.

“Unfortunately the final piece of the orbital route, which is from Johnstown to the Slane Road, crossing the Boyne at Farganstown isn’t happening currently.

It is such a shame and I would hope the final piece of the jigsaw can be revisited and put in place to help the businesses and the people of Navan,” he remarked.

The current works taking place in the site of the former Department of Agriculture building, are being carried out by John Craddock, who is also in charge of works under the Navan 2030 initiative in the town centre.