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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 15 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 5

Written Answers. - Cross-Border Route.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

185 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment whether more detailed information on large scale maps will be made available to the public on the three alignments under consideration in relation to the Newry-Dundalk cross-Border link. [9934/97]

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

186 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment whether the consultants employed to select a preferred alignment in relation to the Newry-Dundalk cross-Border link, have been briefed to include consideration of the capacity of the Newry by-pass and its possible effects on the route of the cross-Border link. [9936/97]

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

187 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment whether he will release to the public the consultant's interim report to the joint project board in relation to the Newry-Dundalk cross-Border link in view of public disquiet over its alignment. [9937/97]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 185, 186 and 187 together.

Consulting engineers have been appointed by the Northern Ireland Roads Service, acting on behalf of a joint North-South Project Board, to prepare a feasibility report on Alternative Road Options for the Newry Dundalk cross-Border Route. The work is being carried out in two phases. The first phase, completed in July 1996, examined a number of options, including the upgrading of the existing road, and an interim report identified three possible routes as warranting further examination. Those route options were the subject of public consultation aimed at eliciting the preliminary views of the public on the major issues they see as important on the corridors identified. This exercise was not part of, and does not prejudice, the normal statutory process to which any emerging scheme will be subjected.

The second phase is still under way. This is examining and identifying options in greater detail and it is anticipated that the study will culminate in the recommendation of a route corridor for further detailed investigation. The study report, which will be accompanied by 1:2,500 scale maps of the routes and more detailed, 1:500 scale, maps at appropriate locations, mainly junctions, will, in the event of a scheme proceeding, be published. Any such scheme will be subject to the normal statutory processes to both jurisdictions.

The capacity of the Newry by-pass is not a consideration in the study. The northern limit of the study area is the new terminal roundabout on the southern end of the Newry by-pass at Cloghoge.

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