Glen o' Downs road opening delayed

The controversial Glen o' the Downs to Kilmacanogue road-widening scheme in Co Wicklow has been delayed again, with the opening now scheduled for October at the earliest.

Under the terms of a new contract worked out between the main contractor Ascon, and the National Roads Authority (NRA), the contractor will have to pay penalty costs of about €25,000 a week if there is any further delay.

However, should the road opening be delayed by the erection of a barrier, which is a new requirement imposed by the NRA, the contractor will not incur penalty payments.

The requirement for a new median barrier follows a number of head-on collisions, notably on the M1 motorway in recent times. It is now NRA policy to install barriers on all new motorways.

The four-mile €85 million road was initially delayed by an eco-warrior protest in the glen. Work began in 2000 and was expected to have been completed by the end of last year. Earlier this year, the NRA said it hoped the road would be open by mid-summer, this then became September.

Last weekend it said it was likely the road would open in October. However, a spokesman warned that a new median barrier would have to be completed before this could happen.

The news has provoked the wrath of north Wicklow-based Minister of State Mr Dick Roche who said yesterday: "If this is the best the NRA can do then it should be stood down."

Mr Roche, who has criticised the delays and work practices, said the project contrasted poorly with other road schemes.

He singled out the building of the Ashford and Rathnew by- pass, a few miles further south of the Glen o' the Downs scheme, which he said was a model of progress.

Mr Roche also asked the Oireachtas Committee on Transport to investigate the project, claiming "an indoor swimming pool could be provided for every town of over 10,000 people in Wicklow, with the money which went on the cost over-run for this road".

The road was first planned in the late 1980s, but was altered radically to take into account the presence of the Glen o' the Downs nature reserve in the 1990s. However, there were ecological problems not identified by the original environment impact study commissioned by Wicklow County Council. The roadworks have also had to contend with up to 30,000 vehicles a day moving through the site.