Residents living in Buttevant, north Cork, have secured direct junction access to the planned M20 motorway.
In previous plans for the €800 million M20 linking Cork to Limerick, Buttevant was the only town not served by a junction connection to the road.
Residents presented their case at an An Bord Pleanála oral hearing last July, arguing that the lack of access would be a massive economic disadvantage.
The board has now requested detailed plans for the proposed motorway including a new link to Buttevant.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label motorway planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motorway planning. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Sunday, 6 September 2009
NRA shelves proposed plans for motorway service stations
The National Roads Authority (NRA) has postponed plans to build nine of the 12 service stations that had been planned for Ireland’s motorways, because of budget cuts.
The 12 stations were due to be built on the five inter-urban motorways by 2011.However, a source said that only the three service stations for which the contracts had already been awarded would move into construction. A consortium made up of construction firm Pierse, Petrogas and Tedcastles Oil will build and operate two service areas on the M1 between Dublin and Belfast, and one on the M4 between Dublin and Galway. These will open in 18 to 22 months.
However, the NRA was recently told by the Department of Finance not to go ahead with the purchase of nine other sites. It will be ‘‘2011 and possibly later’’ before the funding is available for these sites, but NRA spokesman Sean O’Neill said that the roads authority ‘‘remains completely committed’’ to providing the remaining service areas.
‘‘We plan on tendering for these when the funding is in place again," O’Neill said.
‘‘The government has raised over 2 billion from private developers for the major motorways, and the tolling system funds this. Compared to continental Europe, Irish motorists get much better value for their money per kilometre." Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland said that ‘‘marvellous new motorways’’ were being devalued by ‘‘glaring deficiencies’’ like the failure to build service areas. ‘‘It is unacceptable that it may be 2012 before these are looked at again," said Faughnan.
‘‘They are necessities, not optional extras. Next year there will be motorway from Dundalk to Dunkettle [in Cork] without a petrol station." Separately, a list of motorway toll locations and costs, obtained by The Sunday Business Post, shows that cars using the 60 kilometre M3 from Clonee to Kells will have to pay atoll of €1.40 at atoll station north of Clonee and another toll of €1.40 at a second tolling booth south of Kells.
Motorists travelling between Dublin and Galway will be charged almost €10 for a return journey, while the Dublin/ Cork motorway will be tolled again at Cullahill in Co Laois. Private cars currently pay €1.90 at the Fermoy bypass.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The 12 stations were due to be built on the five inter-urban motorways by 2011.However, a source said that only the three service stations for which the contracts had already been awarded would move into construction. A consortium made up of construction firm Pierse, Petrogas and Tedcastles Oil will build and operate two service areas on the M1 between Dublin and Belfast, and one on the M4 between Dublin and Galway. These will open in 18 to 22 months.
However, the NRA was recently told by the Department of Finance not to go ahead with the purchase of nine other sites. It will be ‘‘2011 and possibly later’’ before the funding is available for these sites, but NRA spokesman Sean O’Neill said that the roads authority ‘‘remains completely committed’’ to providing the remaining service areas.
‘‘We plan on tendering for these when the funding is in place again," O’Neill said.
‘‘The government has raised over 2 billion from private developers for the major motorways, and the tolling system funds this. Compared to continental Europe, Irish motorists get much better value for their money per kilometre." Conor Faughnan of AA Ireland said that ‘‘marvellous new motorways’’ were being devalued by ‘‘glaring deficiencies’’ like the failure to build service areas. ‘‘It is unacceptable that it may be 2012 before these are looked at again," said Faughnan.
‘‘They are necessities, not optional extras. Next year there will be motorway from Dundalk to Dunkettle [in Cork] without a petrol station." Separately, a list of motorway toll locations and costs, obtained by The Sunday Business Post, shows that cars using the 60 kilometre M3 from Clonee to Kells will have to pay atoll of €1.40 at atoll station north of Clonee and another toll of €1.40 at a second tolling booth south of Kells.
Motorists travelling between Dublin and Galway will be charged almost €10 for a return journey, while the Dublin/ Cork motorway will be tolled again at Cullahill in Co Laois. Private cars currently pay €1.90 at the Fermoy bypass.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 22 December 2007
NRA attributes motorway services delay to Department
Three planning applications for service areas on the M1 and M/N4 are being held up as a result of delays by the Department of Transport, according to the National Roads Authority.
At a recent board meeting the NRA noted that the Department was required to approve regulations before planning could be sought. "Unfortunately this has not happened yet, notwithstanding its urgency, and we are delayed in submitting the M1/M4 service areas for planning approval," the board noted.
A spokesman for the NRA said that the planning applications were going through "parliamentary regulatory procedures" and that a response was expected "early in the new year".
Regulatory approval is required before the plans can be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.
The NRA has committed to having its first service areas operational by the end of 2009 and the spokesman said that, currently, it was still on course to meet this target.
Some 12 locations along the motorway network have been identified as suitable for service areas. The first will be sited on the M/N4 with two more along the M1. The Authority says it plans to have service areas on all the inter-urban motorways by 2010.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman said a piece of legislation was being drafted and work was progressing as fast as possible. "It is before the parliamentary council, but there is a lot of work there. However, as far as we are concerned the . . . service stops are on schedule. There are no delays."
Citing security and other concerns, the NRA recently changed its policy on rest areas and has decided against providing 11 such sites, which were to provide parking and toilet facilities.
Despite this decision, the NRA spokesman said that the number of service areas was not going to be increased.
The NRA recently awarded a contract to infrastructure consultants Halcrow Barry Ltd, to provide expert advice during the development of service areas.
Service areas will offer food for 16 hours a day and fuel and toilet facilities around the clock. They will also provide extensive parking for cars and HGVs and a Garda enforcement area.
Deciding on how best to provide motorway facilities has been a difficult process for the NRA. The initial NRA view, in 2004, was not to provide such areas along mainline carriageways for safety reasons.
However, this policy was changed, partly because the benefits of by-passing towns was being lost as commercial traffic left the main routes in search of fuel and food.
While the exact sites have yet to be determined, the NRA has said the service areas will be located along the carriageways, rather than at junctions, to prevent a build-up of development at junctions.
The locations chosen for service areas are: along the N11 near the Arklow bypass and on the proposed M9 north of Carlow and near Kilcullen.
For the M7, two service areas will be sited near Mountrath and between Nenagh and Roscea.
The M6 will also be served oneservice area near the M6 and N17 interchange and the second near Athlone.
Motorists on the M1 will be served by two service areas, one south of Dundalk and the other south of Ballbriggan.
And on the M8 drivers will also have a choice of one between Fermoy and Michelstown and the second near Cashel.
As a general rule the service areas will be around 50kms apart.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
At a recent board meeting the NRA noted that the Department was required to approve regulations before planning could be sought. "Unfortunately this has not happened yet, notwithstanding its urgency, and we are delayed in submitting the M1/M4 service areas for planning approval," the board noted.
A spokesman for the NRA said that the planning applications were going through "parliamentary regulatory procedures" and that a response was expected "early in the new year".
Regulatory approval is required before the plans can be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.
The NRA has committed to having its first service areas operational by the end of 2009 and the spokesman said that, currently, it was still on course to meet this target.
Some 12 locations along the motorway network have been identified as suitable for service areas. The first will be sited on the M/N4 with two more along the M1. The Authority says it plans to have service areas on all the inter-urban motorways by 2010.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman said a piece of legislation was being drafted and work was progressing as fast as possible. "It is before the parliamentary council, but there is a lot of work there. However, as far as we are concerned the . . . service stops are on schedule. There are no delays."
Citing security and other concerns, the NRA recently changed its policy on rest areas and has decided against providing 11 such sites, which were to provide parking and toilet facilities.
Despite this decision, the NRA spokesman said that the number of service areas was not going to be increased.
The NRA recently awarded a contract to infrastructure consultants Halcrow Barry Ltd, to provide expert advice during the development of service areas.
Service areas will offer food for 16 hours a day and fuel and toilet facilities around the clock. They will also provide extensive parking for cars and HGVs and a Garda enforcement area.
Deciding on how best to provide motorway facilities has been a difficult process for the NRA. The initial NRA view, in 2004, was not to provide such areas along mainline carriageways for safety reasons.
However, this policy was changed, partly because the benefits of by-passing towns was being lost as commercial traffic left the main routes in search of fuel and food.
While the exact sites have yet to be determined, the NRA has said the service areas will be located along the carriageways, rather than at junctions, to prevent a build-up of development at junctions.
The locations chosen for service areas are: along the N11 near the Arklow bypass and on the proposed M9 north of Carlow and near Kilcullen.
For the M7, two service areas will be sited near Mountrath and between Nenagh and Roscea.
The M6 will also be served oneservice area near the M6 and N17 interchange and the second near Athlone.
Motorists on the M1 will be served by two service areas, one south of Dundalk and the other south of Ballbriggan.
And on the M8 drivers will also have a choice of one between Fermoy and Michelstown and the second near Cashel.
As a general rule the service areas will be around 50kms apart.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 3 August 2007
New 14km stretch of motorway shortens trip up to Belfast
THE journey time between Dublin and Belfast will be cut to two hours with the opening today of the first piece of motorway to cross the border.
The ribbon will be cut on the 14km-long A1/N1 dual carriageway between Newry and Dundalk by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern and the North's Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy.
The route is the result of a partnership between the National Roads Authority, Louth County Council and the Northern Ireland Roads Service. The €154m project will link the A1 at Cloghogue in Co Armagh to the N1 at Dundalk. A total of 4.6km of the scheme is north of the border and 9.4km is in the Republic.
The section of the scheme south of the border has a designated speed limit of 120km.
The Irish and British governments funded the project with assistance by the European Union.
"As an island, we need to develop good road and communication links. This underpins our economic prosperity," said Mr Ahern.
"This new addition to our motor links stands as a shining example of how an all-island approach can help everyone prosper."
Mr Murphy said the project will make a "substantial contribution to the social and economic well-being of communities" north and the south of the Border.
NRA chairman Peter Malone said the project demonstrated that successful cross-border partnerships are now a reality.
The Dundalk to Newry scheme completes the Republic's first inter-urban route from Dublin to the Border.
Mr Malone said other routes from the capital to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford are on target to be completed by 2010.
"High quality roads such as we see opened here today improve people's quality of life by providing safer and quicker travel times while opening up the regions to potential industrial growth as well as traditional and business tourism," he said.
Louth County Council chairman Cllr. Jimmy Mulroy said the new road provides the essential modern infrastructure to help Dundalk and Newry become 'twin cities'.
County Manager of Louth County Council Joan Martin said the opening of the road is the culmination of some two decades of work on designing and constructing the entire length of the Dublin-Belfast Corridor through Co Louth."
Excavations uncovered archaeological finds dating from the 4th millennium BC until around AD 1,000 between Dundalk and Drumad.
The digs found ancient settlements.
Senan Hogan
Irish Independent
The ribbon will be cut on the 14km-long A1/N1 dual carriageway between Newry and Dundalk by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern and the North's Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy.
The route is the result of a partnership between the National Roads Authority, Louth County Council and the Northern Ireland Roads Service. The €154m project will link the A1 at Cloghogue in Co Armagh to the N1 at Dundalk. A total of 4.6km of the scheme is north of the border and 9.4km is in the Republic.
The section of the scheme south of the border has a designated speed limit of 120km.
The Irish and British governments funded the project with assistance by the European Union.
"As an island, we need to develop good road and communication links. This underpins our economic prosperity," said Mr Ahern.
"This new addition to our motor links stands as a shining example of how an all-island approach can help everyone prosper."
Mr Murphy said the project will make a "substantial contribution to the social and economic well-being of communities" north and the south of the Border.
NRA chairman Peter Malone said the project demonstrated that successful cross-border partnerships are now a reality.
The Dundalk to Newry scheme completes the Republic's first inter-urban route from Dublin to the Border.
Mr Malone said other routes from the capital to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford are on target to be completed by 2010.
"High quality roads such as we see opened here today improve people's quality of life by providing safer and quicker travel times while opening up the regions to potential industrial growth as well as traditional and business tourism," he said.
Louth County Council chairman Cllr. Jimmy Mulroy said the new road provides the essential modern infrastructure to help Dundalk and Newry become 'twin cities'.
County Manager of Louth County Council Joan Martin said the opening of the road is the culmination of some two decades of work on designing and constructing the entire length of the Dublin-Belfast Corridor through Co Louth."
Excavations uncovered archaeological finds dating from the 4th millennium BC until around AD 1,000 between Dundalk and Drumad.
The digs found ancient settlements.
Senan Hogan
Irish Independent
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Network of new M-way rest areas unveiled
THE location of the 26 continental-style rest and service facilities promised for our motorways and dual-carriageways have been unveiled.
The move is in response to growing safety concerns over truckers dozing off at the wheel and car drivers not being able to rest on long journeys.
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey will tomorrow introduce legislation to provide service areas - which will include shops and petrol pumps - at intervals of between 50km and 60km along the motorway/dual-carriageway network.
More basic rest areas, with parking, toilet facilities and small picnic areas, are being built at intervals of between 25km and 30km.
These facilities will be located both on the roads and at or close to existing interchanges.
Constructed
Up to 12 service areas and 11 rest areas will be constructed on the major inter-urban routes (M1 Dublin to the border, M4/N4 Dublin/Sligo, N6 Dublin/Galway, M7/N7 Dublin/Limerick, N8 Dublin/Cork, N9 Dublin/Waterford, N11 Dublin/Wexford and N6/N18 Galway and Limerick, part of the new Atlantic Corridor.
The Bill goes to committee stage in the Dail tomorrow and is due to be approved before the summer recess.
The rest/service stops will be rolled out from 2009.
As revealed in the Irish Independent, all high-grade dual-carriageways are to be re-classified as motorways.
The National Roads Authority had been forced to do a u-turn on its opposition to service areas along motorways because of concerns about traffic pulling on and off them.
The authority also voiced concerns that such facilities would be a 'Trojan horse' catalyst for large-scale commercial, retail and housing developments in their vicinity.
However the NRA was forced to abandon its opposition in the face of public uproar that truckers were unable to take the mandatory rest breaks under law because no facilities were provided for them.
Motoring organisations also raised concerns over the absence of modern facilities for car drivers who wanted to take a break from driving and use cafe or toilet facilities for themselves or their children.
Mr Dempsey will tomorrow make a number of amendments to the Roads Act 1993 to facilitate the provision of service and rest areas on the national road network.
He said that Ireland's national road network has been transformed almost beyond all recognition over the last decade.
"One of the consequences of the substantial development of long lengths of motorways and high quality dual carriageways in Ireland is that there is now an increasing need for facilities to cater for road users who wish to rest during their journeys and/or avail of fuel, sanitary andrefreshment facilities," he said.
"Mindful of this, my colleague Minister Martin Cullen asked the NRA to review their policy in this area last year."
"It is worth remembering that the timely development of these areas will make a valued contribution to improving the safety of the road network," he said.
"This will be true for all road users but particularly so for road hauliers who tend to drive for longer sustained periods than most other road users," Mr Dempsey added.
Network
The minister said the rest areas that will be constructed on the network will also make it easier for truckers to comply with EU rules on driving times and rest periods.
He said the NRA had recently concluded an extensive investigation to identify the optimum locations for on-line service and rest areas.
The exercise identified the fact that the Roads Act 1993 did not give the NRA explicit powers to provide these rest and service areas on the existing motorway and dual carriageway networks.
Mr Dempsey said the new provisions greatly facilitate the NRA in arranging for the provision of service areas on motorways and dual carriageways.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
The move is in response to growing safety concerns over truckers dozing off at the wheel and car drivers not being able to rest on long journeys.
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey will tomorrow introduce legislation to provide service areas - which will include shops and petrol pumps - at intervals of between 50km and 60km along the motorway/dual-carriageway network.
More basic rest areas, with parking, toilet facilities and small picnic areas, are being built at intervals of between 25km and 30km.
These facilities will be located both on the roads and at or close to existing interchanges.
Constructed
Up to 12 service areas and 11 rest areas will be constructed on the major inter-urban routes (M1 Dublin to the border, M4/N4 Dublin/Sligo, N6 Dublin/Galway, M7/N7 Dublin/Limerick, N8 Dublin/Cork, N9 Dublin/Waterford, N11 Dublin/Wexford and N6/N18 Galway and Limerick, part of the new Atlantic Corridor.
The Bill goes to committee stage in the Dail tomorrow and is due to be approved before the summer recess.
The rest/service stops will be rolled out from 2009.
As revealed in the Irish Independent, all high-grade dual-carriageways are to be re-classified as motorways.
The National Roads Authority had been forced to do a u-turn on its opposition to service areas along motorways because of concerns about traffic pulling on and off them.
The authority also voiced concerns that such facilities would be a 'Trojan horse' catalyst for large-scale commercial, retail and housing developments in their vicinity.
However the NRA was forced to abandon its opposition in the face of public uproar that truckers were unable to take the mandatory rest breaks under law because no facilities were provided for them.
Motoring organisations also raised concerns over the absence of modern facilities for car drivers who wanted to take a break from driving and use cafe or toilet facilities for themselves or their children.
Mr Dempsey will tomorrow make a number of amendments to the Roads Act 1993 to facilitate the provision of service and rest areas on the national road network.
He said that Ireland's national road network has been transformed almost beyond all recognition over the last decade.
"One of the consequences of the substantial development of long lengths of motorways and high quality dual carriageways in Ireland is that there is now an increasing need for facilities to cater for road users who wish to rest during their journeys and/or avail of fuel, sanitary andrefreshment facilities," he said.
"Mindful of this, my colleague Minister Martin Cullen asked the NRA to review their policy in this area last year."
"It is worth remembering that the timely development of these areas will make a valued contribution to improving the safety of the road network," he said.
"This will be true for all road users but particularly so for road hauliers who tend to drive for longer sustained periods than most other road users," Mr Dempsey added.
Network
The minister said the rest areas that will be constructed on the network will also make it easier for truckers to comply with EU rules on driving times and rest periods.
He said the NRA had recently concluded an extensive investigation to identify the optimum locations for on-line service and rest areas.
The exercise identified the fact that the Roads Act 1993 did not give the NRA explicit powers to provide these rest and service areas on the existing motorway and dual carriageway networks.
Mr Dempsey said the new provisions greatly facilitate the NRA in arranging for the provision of service areas on motorways and dual carriageways.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
Sunday, 17 June 2007
Motorway construction ahead of schedule
Despite ongoing controversy and delays to the planned M3 motorway, three of the other main motorways under construction nationwide are running between eight and ten months ahead of their scheduled completion dates.
Contractors working on the N6 Dublin to Galway, the N7 Dublin to Limerick and N8 Cork to Dublin motorways are making significant progress. It is believed that these new motorways could be complete within two years - ahead of their target dates in 2010.
Last month, the sod was turned on the 56-kilometre Galway to Ballinasloe stretch of the N6, and the opening of the Tyrrellspass to Kilbeggan stretch on May 16 completed the first major phase of that project. Contractors on the N7 and N8 - some of which are consortiums with foreign companies - are also moving apace without any hitches to date.
In addition, other major motorway projects - such as the Dublin to Waterford and Dublin to Sligo motorways - are well on target to be completed within the next three years, according to a new report by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).
The federation consulted contractors working on all 13 major road projects, which are part of the €34 billion Transport 21 programme.
This includes the 560 kilometre ‘Atlantic Corridor’ that stretches from Letterkenny to Waterford - with a tunnel under the Shannon in Limerick - and the Dublin to Rosslare motorway.
A CIF spokesman said the completion of these major roadways should bring many benefits. ‘‘At the start of the last National Development Plan (NDP) in 2000, there were some delays in the roll-out of the inter-urban motorway programmes, but these delays are a thing of the past, as evidenced by the delivery on budget and ahead of time of the last 20major road schemes,” he said.
‘‘The CIF study shows that the country can look forward to having all of our main cities connected by motorway within the next three years.
‘‘As well as bringing the benefits of certainty of travel time and enhanced road safety, the completion of the programme will greatly enhance the capacity for the regions to increase economic activity, allowing for greater investment and the potential for job creation.”
Many towns and villages around the country have benefited hugely from by passes and new sections of motorway.
Heavy congestion has been relieved, and locals can use their town centres for business and leisure with greater ease, according to the CIF.
Contractors working on the N6 Dublin to Galway, the N7 Dublin to Limerick and N8 Cork to Dublin motorways are making significant progress. It is believed that these new motorways could be complete within two years - ahead of their target dates in 2010.
Last month, the sod was turned on the 56-kilometre Galway to Ballinasloe stretch of the N6, and the opening of the Tyrrellspass to Kilbeggan stretch on May 16 completed the first major phase of that project. Contractors on the N7 and N8 - some of which are consortiums with foreign companies - are also moving apace without any hitches to date.
In addition, other major motorway projects - such as the Dublin to Waterford and Dublin to Sligo motorways - are well on target to be completed within the next three years, according to a new report by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).
The federation consulted contractors working on all 13 major road projects, which are part of the €34 billion Transport 21 programme.
This includes the 560 kilometre ‘Atlantic Corridor’ that stretches from Letterkenny to Waterford - with a tunnel under the Shannon in Limerick - and the Dublin to Rosslare motorway.
A CIF spokesman said the completion of these major roadways should bring many benefits. ‘‘At the start of the last National Development Plan (NDP) in 2000, there were some delays in the roll-out of the inter-urban motorway programmes, but these delays are a thing of the past, as evidenced by the delivery on budget and ahead of time of the last 20major road schemes,” he said.
‘‘The CIF study shows that the country can look forward to having all of our main cities connected by motorway within the next three years.
‘‘As well as bringing the benefits of certainty of travel time and enhanced road safety, the completion of the programme will greatly enhance the capacity for the regions to increase economic activity, allowing for greater investment and the potential for job creation.”
Many towns and villages around the country have benefited hugely from by passes and new sections of motorway.
Heavy congestion has been relieved, and locals can use their town centres for business and leisure with greater ease, according to the CIF.
Friday, 5 January 2007
Tara protesters continuing work
The Indo reported this week that:
PROTESTERS disrupted preparatory work along the route of the M3 motorway in Co Meath yesterday in their bid to have the road moved away from the historic Hill of Tara.
Campaigners gathered at Rath Lugh to block the diggers from clearing the felled trees.
Work was disrupted after a number of protesters entered the site and stood in front of the mechanical vehicles before climbing into the buckets of the diggers.
Siobhan Rice from Dublin, a Save Tara campaigner, said the work was being carried out on the outskirts of Rath Lugh, which is a defence fort of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland.
"We still continue to ask that independent archaeologists be allowed to inspect the sites," Ms Rice said. "It is an area that is extraordinarily rich in heritage and has been compared to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
"We are not anti-M3 campaigners - we just want the road moved around the Tara-Skryne valley, where it would cost taxpayers around €50m less."
The protesters vowed to continue blocking machinery and attending sites where archaeologists are working every day as the preparatory work for the M3 motorway from Clonee to Kells continues.
Campaigner Anita Ni Nuallain (22) from Newbridge, who has been camping near the site, said: "We will be here as long as it takes, until we can get the road rerouted."
"I think people don't realise the importance of Tara. It is not just a hill, it is a whole complex - the whole Boyne Valley is interlinked."
Louise Hogan
PROTESTERS disrupted preparatory work along the route of the M3 motorway in Co Meath yesterday in their bid to have the road moved away from the historic Hill of Tara.
Campaigners gathered at Rath Lugh to block the diggers from clearing the felled trees.
Work was disrupted after a number of protesters entered the site and stood in front of the mechanical vehicles before climbing into the buckets of the diggers.
Siobhan Rice from Dublin, a Save Tara campaigner, said the work was being carried out on the outskirts of Rath Lugh, which is a defence fort of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland.
"We still continue to ask that independent archaeologists be allowed to inspect the sites," Ms Rice said. "It is an area that is extraordinarily rich in heritage and has been compared to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
"We are not anti-M3 campaigners - we just want the road moved around the Tara-Skryne valley, where it would cost taxpayers around €50m less."
The protesters vowed to continue blocking machinery and attending sites where archaeologists are working every day as the preparatory work for the M3 motorway from Clonee to Kells continues.
Campaigner Anita Ni Nuallain (22) from Newbridge, who has been camping near the site, said: "We will be here as long as it takes, until we can get the road rerouted."
"I think people don't realise the importance of Tara. It is not just a hill, it is a whole complex - the whole Boyne Valley is interlinked."
Louise Hogan
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