Slane old story

The controversy over heavy goods vehicles passing through Slane seems to have been rumbling on for an eternity. Residents have once more had reason to get up in arms recently, while there’s still no sign of the proposed bypass of the busier-than-it-should-be east Meath village becoming a reality. Thus, the accidents, protests and recriminations show no real sign of abating.

Slane is tattooed into the public consciousness for two reasons. The summer concerts that rock Lord Mountcharles’ magnificent castle venue every year are the stuff of legend. Unfortunately, so too is the unsavoury traffic situation in the inundated-with-traffic small village, which finds itself on the crossroads of two central arteries – the N2 which runs from Dublin to Monaghan and the N51, which links Drogheda and Navan.

The volume of traffic passing through the historic village of Slane is inordinate. The actual centre of the village is one of the busiest intersections in the north east and traffic rolls through incessantly from dusk until dawn, with no respite even after darkness has settled on the hills. What should be a tranquil and quiet heritage centre has been transformed into a nightmare place to live, carry out business or simply travel through.

The steep hill descending from the village along the N2 towards Dublin has long been a bone of major contention. Lives have been lost and countless accidents have occurred as vehicles constantly lose control either coming down the hill or attempting to negotiate the bridge across the Boyne that lies at a ninety degree angle at the bottom of it. The modern day Battle of the Boyne centres around attempts to have the village and – more pertinently, the bridge – bypassed. The battle is being lost.
Why is there still no bypass around Slane when nearby (and never as dangerous) towns like Drogheda, Carrickmacross, Ardee (to an extent), and Ashbourne have all been bypassed? How much longer will we have to wait before this debacle finally comes to an end? A bypass is apparently imminent, a route has been proposed and designed, and word is that the much-needed bypass will happen soon. But when? When will the traffic chaos in Slane be brought to an end?

The situation has been exacerbated by the construction of toll bridges on the new stretch of M1 at Drogheda. The M1 now runs all the way from the border into Dublin and is the obvious route for trucks from the north east to take, but under-siege, hard-pressed hauliers cannot afford to pay the tolls, so they continue to pass through Slane - a cheaper if considerably more dangerous alternative.
On Monday March 23 2009, calls for HGVs to be completely banned from passing through Slane grew vociferously when seven people, including a young child, were taken to hospital following a seven-car and two-lorry pile up in the village The accident happened just after 9.30am on the morning in question and involved a lorry, a delivery truck and seven cars who collided on the Collon Road, just north of the main intersection in the heart of the village.

Seven adults and a young baby were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for treatment of injuries. Some of the damaged cars were being driven by mothers who had just dropped their children to school. All roads through Slane were closed for most of the day while Gardaí (who said it was a miracle that no lives were lost) and the fire brigade cleared the debris.
The lorry lost control on the steep hill entering the village and ploughed into the smaller delivery truck, which in turn hit a car and caused a domino effect in which all nine vehicles were badly damaged. Needless to say, the locals were both stunned and incensed.
Wayne Harding, Slane Forum Secretary and owner of The Village Inn, near which the accident happened, was quick to point out that the latest incident served to highlight once more the urgent need for a Slane bypass and that contact has been made with the NRA and the Minister regarding the exact status of the proposed bypass.

Public representatives also expressed their shock and sympathy for the injured as angry calls were made for renewed road safety measures in a village that has suffered a number of major crashes over the years, most notably on Slane Bridge. Councillor Ann Dillon Gallagher said that every location in Slane had potential for a serious accident due to the long hill running right through the village from north to south. Traffic control measures that have been put in place are clearly not enough.
“What we witnessed was beyond belief,” said Councillor Dillon Gallagher. “The dangers presented to the people of Slane are constant and unbearable. They simply don’t know what faces them when they go out in the morning. From what I have heard, the driver of one of the trucks in this accident could do little about the crash because his brakes failed. That could happen to anybody but wouldn’t it be better for everyone if trucks were diverted away from Slane
altogether?”

Twenty-two people have already lost their lives on a 1.5km stretch of road in and around Slane and Fine Gael Spokesman on Road Safety, Shane McEntee warns that a further massive loss of life is waiting to happen: “How much longer will the residents of Slane have to wait for heavy traffic to be diverted from the village? A further warning was given when the brakes failed on that lorry travelling down the steep hill. I have repeatedly warned Minister Noel Dempsey that if something is not done to reduce the large increase in heavy goods vehicles using Slane Bridge, we will have a major accident in the near future. It is a miracle that people were not killed.”

On Thursday April 9, 17 days after the nine-vehicle pile-up, disgruntled residents took matters into their own hands when they brought traffic on the N2 to a standstill by walking around the village crossroads demanding all heavy goods vehicles be banned and that the village is bypassed immediately. The villagers estimate that an alarming 200 HGVs per hour drive through Slane during rush hour and statistics compiled by the NRA estimate that 6,400 vehicles a day use the N51 at Slane.
As part of their protest about the lack of action on solving the Slane problem, 70 residents walked around the crossroads junction for about 15 minutes, causing tailbacks for two kilometres along the N2.
The NRA says a 6km bypass is at the preliminary design stage and this year’s €500,000 funding will be used to prepare documentation on compulsory purchase orders and an environmental impact statement. The villagers, however, are sick of hearing these empty promises and say there will be more protests and they will crank up the pressure for the bypass and the ban. Minister for Transport and Meath deputy Noel Dempsey was quoted as saying that he wants a ban on HGVs going through Slane to be introduced as quickly as possible.

The narrow bridge across the Boyne is a notorious accident black spot and Slane residents argue that it is the most dangerous bridge in Europe. It’s hard to argue with this claim.
The bypass of Slane has been deferred and delayed for far too long now. The locals - and general road users - deserve better. This is now a pressing safety issue. Traffic calming measures might work in the very short term but Slane has suffered for too long and the village needs a bypass ASAP. If not sooner…
In the meantime, a village in east Meath remains in limbo.