Works to keep traffic moving on N2 in Meath paused due to lack of funding
A proposed scheme to improve traffic flow along the N2 between Kilmoon Cross and Rath roundabout is currently paused due to a lack of funding, Meath County Council has said.
At the September meeting of Ashbourne Municipal District, Councillor Helen Me yer called on the council to prepare an Options Paper exploring all possible measures to ease congestion on this busy stretch of the N2.
Her motion requests that solutions such as removal or resequencing of traffic lights, installation of roundabouts, or road widening be considered, with the report to be completed within three months.
The council explained that a scheme for the N2 has been under assessment for several years.
In July 2019, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) approved the appointment of Roughan O’Donovan Aecom as technical consultants to progress the project. The consultancy work was planned to deliver the scheme through Phases 1 to 4 of the TII Project Management Guidelines, covering a constraints study to the completion of statutory procedures, including planning and compulsory purchase orders.
Phase 2, the Options Selection Report, was completed in December 2021, and the council submitted it to TII for approval to move to Phase 3, Design & Environmental Evaluation. The preferred option proposed a new route corridor to the west of the existing N2.
However, in February 2023, TII confirmed that although the scheme was supported, no funding was available to advance to the next phase, leaving the project on hold pending formal approval and funding to move to the next stage.