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The preferred route for the M7/M8 was announced at a public consultation in Abbeyleix on Thursday October
4th. In the
brochure delivered by the NRA, Ove Arups and Laois County Council it was stated that:
A new dual carriageway/motorway would separate long distance traffic from other traffic
But the National Road Needs Study confirms that the long distance traffic travelling the complete journey from Dublin to Cork each day is only 1700 vehicles and from Dublin to Limerick is only 1450 vehicles.
These motorways are each designed to accommodate 55,000 vehicles per day travelling at an average speed of
65mph. So where is the justification in forcing landowners to part from their land to build these enormous motorways?
And why commit the country to paying tolls for 30 years to provide a return on investment to the private investors that will finance these motorways?
The National Road Needs Study1 was released in 1998 after 2 years of research at a cost of £2m. Mr. Noel Dempsey, Minister for the Environment called it the most comprehensive analysis of Ireland’s road infrastructure. The Study projected forward Ireland’s traffic levels up to the year 2019. The NRA claim that the report is accurate and that they stand by its conclusions.
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