Demand for update on East/West road project

Cavan County Council is to discuss seeking an update on the long awaited East/West Link road project.

The issue was discussed at the latest Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District meeting where Fianna Fáil Cllr Clifford Kelly said it is years since there was a meeting between the local authority and the Department of Transport on the issue.

The project to upgrade roads between Dundalk and Sligo, take in large sections in Co Cavan. These include from Carrickmacross to Shercock, to Cootehill and on to Cavan Town, where it then follows the N3 route. First mooted over two decades ago, little progress has been made since.

The project was dropped in 2005 as the then National Roads Authority (NRA) said it did not see the road as a priority for the region.

The updated National Development Plan contained a number of local projects, including the N3 Virginia bypass.

However, the exclusion of the East/West Link drew criticism in the county.

Cootehill Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Pepper told The Anglo-Celt in October that there was disappointment in the town at the lack of progress.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan earlier that month said over €2 million in funding was given over a seven-year period to carry out design works for the regional road sections of the project. Cllr Kelly called for a meeting to be sought with the Department of Transport for a progress update on the project.

However, a motion must be put down for discussion before a full meeting of Cavan County Council before the meeting can be sought.