‘Difficult’ 10 days are predicted before opening of new Navan road takes place
Motorists in Navan have been warned of a difficult 10 days before the opening of the new LDR 4 road linking the Rathaldron Road and the Kells Road.
The new road which is expected to drastically reduce traffic congestion in north Navan will open at the end of October, or at the latest, the first week in November, a meeting of Navan Municipal Council was told last week.
Director of Services, Martin Murray said: "There will be a difficult 10 days when we get ready to open the road. There will be queues and until we get the whole thing working, there will have to be temporary stopping of traffic."
He warned councillors that they were likely to get a lot of representations from the public on it.
"We have been in contact with people in the business park and Bus Eireann about it," he said.
The new route is expected to be a gamechanger for traf fic in Navan, where at the moment, the only route into Navan from the north of the town is down to the inner relief road via the Round O/Abbeylands junctions.
Following last week's meeting, the Mayor of Navan, Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said he was delighted to hear the road would open so soon.
"We had initially been told before Christmas, so it is great that it will open a month or two earlier.
"I'd like to commend the work and standard of the work. There will be a bit more pain as they complete the final stages but the new road will be a gamechanger for traffic in Navan, particularly north Navan.
"It will give much easier access to the M3 and will make a huge difference around school times.
"The people of Rathaldron Road and all of North Navan will see the benefit of it, it will be one of the best things that happened to Navan in the last 20 years.
"I live on the Rathaldron Road and I see the amount of people who drive out to the Silver Tankard to come into Navan on the old Kells Road to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
"It will create more permeability in the town and will open up more access to Blackwater Park. I am looking forward to its opening."
The new road is 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 route encroaches on Blackwater Park, shaving two hectares off the edge of the amenity and continues through the site of the old OPW building and emerge on the Kells Road at a new signalised junction, replacing the roundabout that had existed there.