Cllr Minogue voices concerns over progress on Ardee Bypass

Ardee's Cllr Dolores Minogue has said that the opening this week of the Macroom Bypass has left the people of Ardee frustrated at the lack of one for the mid Louth town.

Work on the long awaited N52 Ardee bypass has not yet commenced due to a Judicial Review of An Bord Pleanála’s decision that neither an Environmental Impact Assessment Report nor a Natura Impact Statement are required for the bypass that would cross Ardee Bog.

Cllr Minogue told the Dundalk Democrat that "myself and Fergus [O'Dowd TD], we share the concerns concerns in regard to the current position of the Ardee Bypass" and that she hopes the Judicial Review will "deliver a positive outcome for the people of Ardee".

Cllr Minogue continued, "the government reaffirmed their commitment to the Ardee Bypass in February, in fact it was Minister Eamon Ryan who announced that the project was included in the national roads funding for 2023.  

"€350k was made available for 2023 to cover the ongoing legal costs of the case. I hope that the judicial review will be dealt with as quickly as possible and if successful, I would expect to see construction commencing shortly afterwards.

"Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) confirmed to us in June that assuming ABP’s findings are upheld, the award date for the construction contract for the scheme is likely to be in late 2024."

The Ardee councillor added, "As frustrating as this is we cannot do anything about the length of time the judicial review will take."