Ardee Bog is a proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA). The image above shows flooding in the bog’s bufferzone habitat, an area which is part of the pNHA. The fencing submerged in the floodwaters was installed in October/November 2019 after a Joint Oireachtas Committee on September 23rd 2019 ordered all work related to the N52 Ardee Bypass to stop.
An Environmental Impact Assessment was never carried out for the proposed N52 Ardee Bypass. We have called for a Judicial Review.
Friends of Ardee Bog held a COP26 March for Climate Justice in the bog on November 6, 2021.
The bogs’ surrounding bufferzone habitat in Townparks, Ardee has always flooded and it has been getting dramatically worse in recent years. We believe a road should not be built here. If you agree, please sign our petition or donate. Our petition calls on the Irish Government to take seriously their commitment to the Climate Emergency that they declared in 2019. We need to respect the Rights of Nature, Stop Ecocide and halt construction of flawed infrastructure projects like the N52 Ardee Bypass.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN OUR PETITION
WHAT IS THE N52 ARDEE BYPASS?
From the Irish Government’s website: “The N52 Ardee bypass will serve to reduce congestion and delays within the town of Ardee.”
There are many reasons why this proposed road will not reduce traffic in Ardee and we will try to share our concerns here.
THREAT TO ARDEE BOG
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was never carried out.
The proposed route of the N52 Ardee bypass runs directly through the easterly edge of Ardee Bog’s surrounding bufferzone habitat. This area is a designated pNHA (proposed Natural Heritage Area).
Map from Louth County Council’s early plans for the proposed N52 Ardee bypass. The pNHA of Ardee Bog is indicated by the grey area with purple outline. The route of the proposed N52 Ardee Bypass is indicated by a black line. The route of the bypass is clearly going directly through the pNHA of Ardee Bog.
Recent maps of the proposed N52 Ardee bypass fail to show the pNHA of Ardee Bog. It’s as though the bog has magically disappeared. The image on the left shows where we drew in the pNHA in red.
Flawed!
It will not solve Ardee’s traffic problem
The Irish Government and Louth County Council claim that the purpose of the new road (N52 Ardee bypass) is to “reduce congestion and delays” within Ardee.
However, the proposed bypass will not alleviate the traffic problem in the town of Ardee. Because most of the traffic comes from a different road: the N2.
Friends of Ardee Bog made this map to help illustrate Ardee’s traffic problem. The majority of traffic (7,000 vehicles per day) comes from the N2 at the south end of Ardee. The proposed N52 Ardee bypass is only taking traffic from the much less travelled N52 to the west of Ardee (3,000 vehicles per day, which includes all the shoppers at Super Valu due to the one-way system).
The worst congestion is where traffic on the N2 south of Ardee town bottle-necks at a crossroads in front of the church leading to the little Norman bridge crossing the river Dee on the N2 old Dublin road. Traffic from Dublin, Collon and Slane meets traffic from two primary schools, a secondary school, the church, Doctor’s surgery, many housing developments and a new LIDL currently under construction.
Traffic from the existing N52 is not part of the congestion as it joins the N2 in the middle of town, north of the little Norman bridge.
TO CLARIFY:
If the aim of the N52 Ardee bypass is to alleviate traffic problems in the town of Ardee, well, it’s going to fail. We need to bypass a different part of town. The majority of traffic comes from the N2 at the south end of Ardee and merges with traffic for all the primary schools, Community School, church, housing estates, doctor’s surgery, Lidl, etc. We need to divert traffic from the N2, heading east, connecting to the N33 link road. See map below.
This GREEN LINE would divert the majority of traffic/trucks away from the town of Ardee.
Most of the traffic in Ardee town comes from the N2 and the south end of town where traffic needs to access the local primary schools, the Community School, doctor’s surgery, housing estates, Lidl, church, etc.
All this traffic gets stuck at the crossroads beside the church and gets clogged at the little Norman bridge.
The N52 Ardee bypass is bypassing another part of town, so it will not reduce any of this traffic.
Ardee will continue to have terrible traffic problems even if the N52 Ardee bypass goes ahead.
So, we have to ask ourselves, why is it being pushed through by local politicians? Is it simply about money? About looking like they care and are trying to help? What do you think? Let us know!
Over 8.1 million Euros has been spent to date on the proposed N52 Ardee bypass
Where is the accountability?
CLICK HERE TO SIGN OUR PETITION
UPDATE: It has come to our attention that an N2 bypass was originally proposed twenty years ago. We’ve been told that a local farmer/politician owned some of the land needed for that proposed route. He refused to give it to a CPO, so the proposed bypass was moved from the N2 to the N52.
CURLEWS
We have evidence of Curlews feeding - and possibly nesting - in the route of the proposed road.
Curlews are on the brink of extinction in Ireland.
Fencing for the N52 Ardee Bypass was illegally installed in October/November 2019 after the Oireachtas ordered all work to stop while the design was reviewed. Curlew habitat has already been destroyed. The bypass must be stopped.
LETTER WRITING
We have written letters to elected officials asking how the N52 Ardee Bypass road project can go ahead without an Environmental Impact Assessment being carried out.
Everyone is invited to share messages of support for Ardee Bog. We need to spread awareness of our precious peatlands and create a widespread knowledge of their beauty and importance.
We encourage anyone who is distraught by the possible construction of a motorway through the Bog to contact Minister Eamon Ryan (eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie) and/or members of the Oireachtas Transport Committee. You can find all their phone numbers and emails right here.
Writing letters of gratitude to supporters like the IPCC, and letters asking elected officials to take the Climate Emergency seriously, to respect the Rights of Nature and to stop Ecocide.