To ask the Minister for Transport the status of the proposed toll bridge on the new N2 motorway between Finglas and Ashbourne on the Meath/Dublin border; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Damien English.
For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 30th November, 2004.
Ref No: 31057/04
Answered by the Minister for Transport (Martin Cullen)
Reply
The planning, design and implementation of national road improvement projects is a matter for the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the local authority concerned - in this case Meath County Council.
I understand from the NRA that the Design and Build Contract for the N2 Ashbourne to M50 project (including Ashbourne bypass) was signed in May 2004 and construction has commenced. Project completion is due in August 2006.
In the context of a broader review of the arrangements for the delivery of the roads programme, the NRA have identified a number of options for the development of tolling policy, including the tolling of the N2 (Finglas/Asbourne section), to enable the NRA to raise additional funding for the national roads programme. The proposals submitted by the NRA are currently being considered in my Department.
