For many supporters travelling from Louth to Croke Park, the journey has been an unenviable task; however the construction of the A1/N1 Newry to Dundalk Link Road will help ease the stress of following your county to GAA headquarters. Following the success of Louth footballers in 2005, interest in Gaelic football in the county has reached an all-time high after a number of years in the doldrums. The success in the league and Tommy Murphy Cup has given the people of the county renewed hope that some major silverware may be brought back to the county in the very near future. Hogan Stand spoke to Louth County Council senior engineer Padraig Fallon and main contractors Siac-Ferrovial project manager Murt O'Sullivan about the difference the new road will make to journeys from the north to the south and vice versa. On the 28th February, 2005, the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, T.D. turned the sod for the A1/N1 Newry to Dundalk Link Road the final step in the upgrading of the M1 to motorway standard between from the M50 in Dublin to Newry. Speaking at a ceremony to mark commencement of the project, Minister Cullen said the €121.9m project illustrates in concrete terms how all island projects can make a positive economic and community difference to the lives of people North and South. Construction work began on the project in June 2005 and the development was awarded as a joint venture to Irish firm Siac and their Spanish counterparts Ferrovial. The overall project extends from close to the Ballymacscanlan Roundabout (existing N1/R173) north of Dundalk, Co. Louth, crosses the Border into Northern Ireland and finishes at the Clohoge Roundabout, south of Newry. At the northern end it will link with the existing A1 Newry By-Pass and at the southern end with the M1 Dundalk Western By-Pass, which is currently under construction. The project length is approximately 14 km, of which 9.4 km is located in County Louth and 4.6 km in County Down. The project provides a new section of the Euroroute E01 linking the major commercial seaports at Larne, Belfast, Dublin and Rosslare and the airports at Dublin and Belfast. Work has been ongoing since the summer of 2005 and the completion date for the project is late October, 2007. Padraig revealed that the North Route that during his 37 years with the council, he has seen many changes in the development of Irish roads and admits that there is still plenty of work to do. "I expect that by 2010 there will be a dual-carriageway running from Dublin to Belfast. The road infrastructure has improved greatly over the years and it is like everything else, it just takes time to get all the work done," said Padraig. The Council's senior engineer also pointed out that the new road will benefit towns like Dundalk where more industry will be attracted to the Louth town. "Certainly, if journey times are cut down to Dublin and indeed Belfast, then Dundalk and Drogheda will benefit and you are likely to see more businesses opening in the towns. "This current project began in 2005 and is currently at an advanced stage. Traffic disruption has been kept to a minimum, but obviously there have been some delays for motorists." Padraig has been involved in many road projects within the county and is eager to continue with the progress that has been made over the years. "This country is improving greatly with its roads infrastructure and it is important for this work to be continued at the present rate, because it benefits so many." The project is unique in that it will utilize a form of contract known as "target pricing" and which has not been used previously in the procurement of major road projects in the South. With target cost contracts, the contractor tenders a target price, which includes the contractor's estimate of actual costs plus overheads and profit to be covered by his fee. Where the final cost is lower than the final target cost, the contractor will share the savings and where the final cost is higher than the target cost, the contractor is obliged to make a financial contribution to the client for his overspend. This project is being funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, and part funded by the TEN-T fund of the European Union. The standard dual carriageway will link the Dundalk Western Bypass Northern Link Motorway Scheme north of Dundalk to the A1 Newry Bypass South of Newry. The scheme is a cross border project of which 9.4 km of the scheme is within County Louth and 4.6 km is within Co Armagh. Project Manager Murt O'Sullivan is pleased with the progress that the project is making and revealed that maintaining a steady progress over the coming winter months will be the key factor in achieving an earlier opening date. "We have completed 90% of the bulk earth works to date and with all the major structures near completion; we are well on target for a summer 2007 opening. Asphalt is currently being laid on the new scheme and it is set to progress over the coming months "The road will make a significant difference in travel time for motorists, while it will also place the major towns in the North east within easy reach of Dublin and Belfast." Siac Construction, with origins dating back to 1913 and since established nationwide are now one of Ireland's leading contractors. For many years it has been at the forefront of public sector infrastructure provision in Ireland. Mort revealed that in their new partnership with Ferrovial Agroman, to date if has been a very successful joint-venture, which can be contributed to the vast experience and wealth of knowledge that both parties have brought to the table. Ferrovial was established in 1952 and is Spain's largest and Europe's second biggest construction company in terms of market capitalization and are associated with some of the most renowned projects currently been undertaken on the international market. Although this is his first job as project manager for Siac Construction, Murt has many years experience in the construction industry, having spent ten years in the States directly involved in motorway construction, he believes that the construction boom in this country is set to last for a number of years to come, with further motorway projects and infrastructures still in the developing stages. Tweet

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