The proposed route of the Newry to Dundalk road, which will form part of the main Dublin-Belfast road, is different to that identified in Louth county development plans since 1975 as the road link to the Border, an An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into objections to the proposed route, heard yesterday, writes Elaine Keogh
The route is 14 km long, of which nine km are in the Republic, and the oral hearing is concerned with the section between the existing Ballymascanlon roundabout and the Border at Cloghoge.
The hearing was told the road from Dublin Airport to the end of the Dundalk Western By-Pass would all be of motorway standard in the near future.
However, because the Roads Service in Northern Ireland did not intend upgrading the existing A1 at Newry to motorway standard, the road would be downgraded to dual-carriageway at Ballymascanlon.
The proposed route, known as the blue route, was identified as the preferred option by Parkman consultants in 1997.
This is not the red route which was first identified in 1975, and which had been identified in development plans since then.
The red route was also taken into consideration when the Dunleer-Dundalk motorway was designed, the Louth county engineer, Mr Anthony Kearon, told Mr Michael Ward, the inspector chairing the hearing.
Since 1997, the Louth county development plan has identified the lines of both blue and red routes.
The blue route is estimated to cost around €100 million to construct, and according to Mr Neil McCann, who is representing a number of the 19 objectors attending the hearing, it has cost implications for the Exchequer.
These were "quite enormous" when compared to the cost implications of the red route.
Cross-examined by Mr McCann, Mr Kearon said that the red route was one of a number of alternatives looked at by Parkman.
However, he said that the only scheme which was proposed by the county council was the blue route.
This route runs close to the existing Dublin-Belfast road, and is east of Dromad Wood and Feede Mountain.
The hearing is expected to run until the end of the week.