Infrastructure

COUNTDOWN TO  BY-PASS COMPLETION

N2 Castleblayney to Clontibret

There has been no denying the frustrations of many traveling motorists who's journey has brought them to the town of  Castleblayney.  Huge and unpredictable delays through he town have been the norm in the wake of  the Ardee and Carrickmacross by-pass projects.

However the most recent update from the NRA has predicted that the By-Pass will be complete by september 2007.

The Castleblayney to Clontibret by-pass project is the largest road realignment undertaken  by Monaghan Council and when complete will consist of a 16kms of carriageway providing  a by-pass for the traffic on the N2 National Primary route to Castleblayney and the villages of Annyalla and Clontibret.

A point of note also is that the Castleblayney by-pass project is the second of four pilot projects which involes what is known as "the 2 plus 1 road system".

The 2 plus 1 road type consists  of  two lanes in one direction of travel and one in the opposite direction. The two-lane section, which provides a safe overtaking zone, alternates with one-lane section at intervals of 2k approximately.  It will be seperated by a crash barrier therby drastically reducing the number of head-on collisions with the potential of halving the death toll on these two-lane roads.

The 2 plus 1 road system operates in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany and it was felt that this  particular road type can also be suitably applied in Ireland.