The National Roads Authority has given details of plans for the new Slane by-pass, which is to be built 500m from the
World Heritage Site at Newgrange. While the plan has been welcomed locally it is expected that there will be
controversy. The bridge and the road through the village of Slane, Co Meath, is one of the most dangerous stretches
roads in Ireland. Over 20 people have been killed in accidents and locals have long campaigned for a by-pass around
the village. The NRA is proposing to build the route down river of the present bridge and to the east of the village.
The proposed by-pass will be 500m away from the buffer-zone around the World Heritage Site at Brú na Bóinne, which
comprises the ancient megalithic tombs at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. It will also impact on the museum dedicated to
Ireland's only World War I poet Francis Ledwidge who came from Slane. The Environmental Impact Statement for the
project acknowledges that 44 archaeological sites will be within 500m of the roadway and that the potential to
uncover much more during work is high. While there will be a visual impact from the river, the Environmental Impact
Statement says there will be negligible impact on the Site. (credit rte.ie)
Route http://www.meath.ie/LocalAuthorities/Roads/MajorRoadsProjects/N2SlaneBypass/File,39197,en.pdf
The proposed N2 Slane Bypass will provide a dual carriage to the east of Slane Village on the N2 National Primary
Route, from a southern terminal point 0.4km north of McGruder’s Cross at Johnstown, to a northern terminal point 0.3km
south of Littlewood in the townland of Mooretown. The scheme is approximately 3.5km long and will cross the River
Boyne on a new bridge at a location approximately 1.1km to the east of the existing N2 Slane Bridge. (credit meath.ie)
