M3 motorway 'ahead of schedule'

WORK ON the M3 motorway in Co Meath is “tracking well ahead of schedule” and is on course to be completed ahead of its July 2010 deadline, the National Roads Authority said yesterday.

Speaking after disturbances by protesters in the Dunshaughlin area of the motorway, roads authority spokesman Seán O’Neill said it was time for protesters to accept that the road was nearly finished and to end their protest.

Pressed on a completion date for the M3, which is routed just a few kilometres away from the Hill of Tara, the authority said it was “hopeful”it would be finished by the end of 2009. Mr O’Neill said the authority “can’t guarantee” early completion as this was a matter for the contractor, the Eurolink consortium, but he said it was running in advance of the timetable. According to Eurolink, more than 1.24 million tonnes of “blacktop” surface was put on the road last summer, and all structures, including bridges, are well advanced. Mr O’Neill said protests of the kind that occurred at Dunshaughlin, when about 50 people invaded the site, should cease. The road was “so far progressed, it is ridiculous”.

Laura Grealish of Tarawatch, which campaigns against the M3 route, said she did not believe the Dunshaughlin protesters were part of her group. However, the protests should continue as there was a complaint about the M3 with the EU and Unesco was considering designating Tara a world heritage site.

Vincent Salafia of Tarawatch accused the authority of “spin” by claiming the M3 was ahead of schedule. The group was taking legal advice and he said the Government may have to reroute the M3 to ensure Unesco recognition.