FAQ

  1. Why do we need a new road?
  2. Why not change the Blue route (approved route) for the Orange or Pink routes on Section 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan?
  3. Why not widen the existing N3?
  4. Why put a new road through one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the country?
  5. Why destroy the landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara?
  6. Why locate the M3 where it will separate the site of Rath Lugh from Tara?
  7. Why destroy the archaeology that is found?
  8. Why did the public have no say in the chosen route?
  9. Why locate a floodlit junction (the Blundelstown junction on Section 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan) so close to Tara?
  10. What is meant by archaeological excavations?
  11. What happens when a site is excavated?
  12. What happens to artefacts that are discovered during this process?
  13. What constitutes a site of archaeological importance?
  14. Why not move the M3 Motorway to avoid sites of archaeological importance?
  15. What happens if there are new finds when construction on the road actually starts?
  16. What happens if a site of National Archaeological Importance is unearthed during the construction phase?
  17. Why is the NRA involved in the archaeological process - what does it know about heritage?
  18. Will I be able to see the artefacts uncovered by the NRA's archaeologists?
  19. Will the archaeological excavations delay the opening of the M3?
  20. How is the M3 being funded?

  1. Why do we need a new road?
    The M3 Motorway is a key part of the plan to upgrade the overall roads network for the country. It will significantly improve road transport connections between the North West and the East of the country. The transport corridor that links the North West, Cavan and North Meath with Dublin City is one of the busiest in the country. The existing road is struggling to cope with the hugely increased volumes brought about by the population explosion in towns such as Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells, as well as other areas of County Meath.

    When complete the M3 will enable motorists to by-pass those towns. The road will also cater for the traffic from all of these towns and from other towns such as Trim and Dunboyne. In this way, the M3 will make life better for both those living in the towns and the motorists using the road. The M3 will, on opening, provide safer, faster travel for approximately 22,000 vehicles daily. This figure is in fact predicted to more than double in the ten years after its construction. If the road is not built now the situation on the existing road will continue to deteriorate, becoming less safe, more congested and, ultimately unsustainable.

  2. Why not change the Blue route (approved route) for the Orange or Pink routes on Section 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan?
    The whole aspect of Tara is as a viewpoint across the plains to the west of the Hill. The 'western', Orange route would be fully visible from all points on the Hill of Tara. It would also have substantial impacts on several known archaeological sites, particularly the bi-vallate hillfort, Ringlestown Rath, located 2.5km south-west of Tara.

    The Pink route would necessitate a high level bridge over the River Boyne at Ardsallagh-Corballis, in order for the road to pass north of Dalgan Park and around the topographical ridge north of Skryne. The Pink route would sever already densely populated residential areas surrounding Skryne/Skryne Cross/McKeown's Cross and Oberstown cross, cut through the GAA pitch and pass adjacent to a school. Skreen is a hilltop of high archaeological potential and this hilltop would be severely impacted by the proposed Pink Route. Because of the relative remoteness of the Pink and Orange routes there would be a difficulty linking them to the existing road network. Long link roads with all the attendant impacts of a new road would be required to connect the proposed motorway with local roads. The Pink Route would also affect undocumented archaeology, but as it is longer than the chosen option, more landowners and more existing road networks would be affected when compared with other routes. Therefore, both Orange and Pink routes have a far greater impact on the environment.

  3. Why not widen the existing N3?
    The existing N3 is lined with occupied houses and gates leading to farms or holdings set back from the road. None of these accesses could be allowed onto a motorway/dual carriageway. Very many of the existing buildings would need to be demolished and almost all of the mature trees currently lining the N3 cut down. The existing N3 would need to be dug up, re-graded and re-laid so that widening the existing N3 would essentially mean building a new road significantly closer to Tara than the proposed road, but with a far greater environmental impact. In addition, there would also be a requirement to provide a non-motorway alternative, to facilitate the traffic not wishing to or prohibited by law from using the motorway.

  4. Why put a new road through one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the country?
    The whole of County Meath is a rich archaeological landscape with areas such as the World Heritage Site of Brú na Boinne, Tara itself, Fourknocks, Mount Oriel, Trim and Kells. Undoubtedly any development in these areas would have an impact but every effort has been made to ensure that the impact of the M3 on this landscape will be minimal. Through careful design only two RMP sites are being impacted on the whole route. In recognition of the rich heritage of the area extensive geophysical surveys have been carried out and the road was moved during the EIS to avoid three new sites. As expected a large number of new sites have been found throughout the route but the frequency and type of sites are very similar to that from other linear developments in County Meath and throughout the country. These discoveries will all contribute to the archaeological record whether through being preserved in situ where the road was moved or through full archaeological excavation in advance of construction.

  5. Why destroy the landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara?
    The landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara has not remained static since prehistory and much of the landscape visible today reflects the creation of demesnes in the 18th and 19th centuries. The M3 will also have an impact on the wider landscape surrounding the Hill of Tara just as the existing roads network and housing do. The M3 however, will be further away from Tara than the existing N3 Dublin-Navan Road being approximately 1.5km from the edge of the RMP zone around Tara and over 2km from the top of the hill. The design of the route has sought to minimise the impact by choosing a route to the east of Tara rather than the west, and by placing the route low in the valley below Tara where the natural topography, the existing hedging and newly planted landscaping will screen it from viewers on the Hill. The landscape architect* who assessed the visual impact for the EIS, stated at the Oral Hearing that he considered the M3 would not visually impinge on the sensitive landscape setting surrounding the National Monument.

  6. Why locate the M3 where it will separate the site of Rath Lugh from Tara?
    In the Discovery Programme publication 'Tara, an Archaeological Survey', Newman reinterpreted Rath Lugh, an RMP site which lies 2.5km to the north-east of Tara, as a defensive inland cliff-edge fort, rather than a ringfort. Newman (1997, 200-206) tentatively proposed that despite problems of classification and dating it was tempting to consider is as part of a defensive zone around Tara.

    Rath Lugh is today separated from Tara by the existing N3 and lies under dense vegetation and tree cover. It was not possible to route the M3 to the east of the site, instead it skirts the base of the elevated promontory on which Rath Lugh is located, approximately 20m below, and will not interfere with the site itself or the view of this site from Tara.

  7. Why destroy the archaeology that is found?
    All archaeological sites have been found solely due to NRA advance archaeological works for the M3 project. None of these sites had any protection and if small-scale development had been proposed on any of them, it is debatable that any would have been subject to archaeological investigation. Discovered archaeological sites on the M3 will be excavated and recorded by hand within the fenceline (landtake) of the road subject to directions issued by the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government. All discovered sites will be subject to very thorough archaeological excavation and post-excavation reporting. Any sites found will be reported to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government to be recorded on the Record of Monuments and Places (RMP) . The whole project will be fully published to add significantly to Irish Archaeology in general and to the ancient settlement and society of this part of Meath in particular.

  8. Why did the public have no say in the chosen route?
    Unfortunately, much of the debate about the M3 has been misinformed. The notion that unaccountable government agencies and official bodies just decided the route on a uninformed, unilateral basis is false. As well as the extensive planning process outlined in Part 2, the NRA and Meath County Council actively canvassed the opinions of the public and interested groups. In total, over 4,000 people attended public consultations throughout 2000 and 2001 on the planning of the road scheme. This process was supplemented by the publication of the Motorway Scheme for the M3 project and the associated Environmental Impact Statement. Both documents were made available for public inspection and comment and were the subject of extensive scrutiny in the course of the 28 day oral hearing conducted by An Bord Pleanála into the road scheme proposal. Like any other building project, the M3 has had to pass through all stages of due process as stipulated in Irish and EU law.

  9. Why locate a floodlit junction (the Blundelstown junction on Section 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan) so close to Tara?
    In adopting the proposed route for the project the M3 motorway has either to pass over or under the existing N3 road at some point. In this case the road design utilises the fact that there is a 'dip' or 'hollow' on the existing N3 south of Garlow Cross. This is the lowest point on this particular stretch of the existing N3 and allows the motorway to pass over the existing road with minimal elevation of the motorway. Where N3 and M3 intersect, two roundabouts will be added to the existing road and four slip roads will link from the roundabouts onto the motorway. This is the extent of Blundelstown Grade Separated Junction, which is a standard compact double roundabout design - not a 'Spaghetti Junction' Interchange.

    The purpose of the Blundelstown Grade Separated Junction is to provide an essential link between the existing N3 and the M3 motorway and to allow substantial traffic on two important regional/local roads to join and leave the motorway rather than use the existing deficient N3. Careful thought was given to the placement of the junction and its location in the shallow valley at Blundelstown through which the existing N3 passes, minimising the visual impact of the motorway and junction as much as possible. A detailed landscaping scheme which utilises a combination of extensive, mainly indigenous, woodland areas and earth bunds has been developed to help integrate the junction into the surroundings.

    Lighting is restricted on Blundelstown interchange to the small roundabouts, their immediate approaches and the bridge crossing. This is considered desirable from a safety perspective to highlight the potential danger of at grade roundabouts in an otherwise free flowing environment. However, the lighting design developed has utilised low level columns which will incorporate special features to cut off the horizontal spread of the light, resulting in significantly reduced impact.

    The junction is located approximately 1.2 km from the Hill of Tara RMP. The landscape architect who assessed the visual impact in the EIS, stated at the oral hearing that he considered the proposed M3, including the junction at Blundelstown, would not visually impinge on the sensitive landscape setting surrounding the National Monument.

  10. What is meant by archaeological excavations?
    Archaeological excavation involves the systematic, scientific removal and recording of the material remains of human activity. Sometimes these remains are exciting or precious artefacts like weapons or jewellery. More often excavation is like a form of forensic detective work - the careful investigation of apparently ordinary materials such as burnt soil and stone that can reveal the answers to questions about what people did in the past.

  11. What happens when a site is excavated?
    All such sites are excavated on behalf of the NRA and the County Council by a team of qualified archaeologists. Their work is to obtain knowledge of the past. The preservation of such knowledge by record is the real value of excavation. Their work is carried out under standards set by the regulatory authorities - that is the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the National Museum of Ireland.

    All findings from the site are recorded while all artefacts are removed, conserved and passed to the National Museum for safe keeping. It is important to remember that excavation is only a technique, a way of recovering data. It is the interpretation and publication of that data that helps create a better understanding of the past. The NRA realises that all such information needs to be made more publicly accessible and it is part of its brief to ensure that all such information reaches as wide an audience as is possible.

  12. What happens to artefacts that are discovered during this process?
    All archaeological finds unearthed by the NRA's archaeology team are carefully removed, catalogued and then sent to specialists for study as part of the post excavation process. Once this is completed the artefacts are then sent to the National Museum of Ireland to be put on display where appropriate.

  13. What constitutes a site of archaeological importance?
    For the archaeologist all sites that have the potential to reveal interesting and valuable information about our past are important. However, it is sometimes only by archaeological excavation that the importance of many sites can be revealed. Sometimes, however, on rare lucky occasions a new site or artefact type is found that is completely unique in Ireland. Such a site, which can totally change our understanding of the past in a dramatic way, is undoubtedly significant.

  14. Why not move the M3 Motorway to avoid sites of archaeological importance?
    Every effort was made to avoid all known sites during the route selection process. Extensive studies were carried out to identify any potential new sites previously unknown. Indeed, in the case of M3 the road was moved to avoid three such sites. However, because of the density of archaeological sites surviving in Ireland it would be practically impossible to continually move the line of a road to avoid all archaeology.

  15. What happens if there are new finds when construction on the road actually starts?
    Full-time professionally qualified archaeologists will be on the site at all times during the critical road excavation phase of the M3. An archaeological excavation team will be on standby so that any possible find can be assessed and if necessary fully excavated and recorded.

  16. What happens if a site of National Archaeological Importance is unearthed during the construction phase?
    An unprecedented level of archaeological study and investigation has been carried out as part of the planning process and is continuing prior to construction. It is, therefore, unlikely that any major archaeological site would be uncovered during the construction stage. However, if that were to happen then, according to legislation recently enacted, it would be at the discretion of the Minister of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to instruct the preservation or excavation of such site.

  17. Why is the NRA involved in the archaeological process - what does it know about heritage?
    The remit of the NRA is to develop our national roads infrastructure. Inevitably in the course of this work there is an impact on archaeology. The NRA has always said that a balance must be struck between protecting our past and building our future, and this is exactly how it discharges its responsibilities. A professional team of 23 archaeologists is employed by the NRA to ensure that the country's cultural obligations and the commitment to provide safer and better roads are in harmony. In addition the NRA works with the wider archaeological profession to ensure that its archaeological work is carried out to best practice. The NRA recognises that it is vitally important to continue to work closely with the archaeological profession to ensure that we add to our stock of knowledge about our rich past.

  18. Will I be able to see the artefacts uncovered by the NRA's archaeologists?
    All of the archaeological work carried out by the NRA or on behalf of the NRA is recorded and all reports filed with the Department of Environment, Heritage, and Local Government and the National Museum of Ireland. Ultimately all artefacts are deposited in the National Museum of Ireland which is the State's repository of archaeological objects for curation, display and to be available for further research.

    As Meath County Council promised at the Bord Pleanala oral hearing it is the intention to ensure that the results of all of the archaeological investigations are made public. Initially updates on the progress and results of the excavations will be posted on this website on an on-going basis. All completed archaeological excavation reports and photographs of artefacts uncovered will be published on the NRA website. At a later stage a series of exhibitions and publications will bring the results of any finds to the wider public.

  19. Will the archaeological excavations delay the opening of the M3?
    There is no reason to think so. The testing results to date indicate that there is ample time to excavate all archaeological sites along the M3 in advance of construction. Of course, additional resources and time will be made available if required.

  20. How is the M3 being funded?
    Roads constructed by PPP are to be tolled for a number of years so that the private sector can obtain an adequate return on its investment. At the same time the NRA is conscious that there must be an alternative toll free road for those not willing to pay the charges. The net result of the work being carried out by the NRA, aided by the use of the PPP mechanism, will be to provide a higher quality safer road infrastructure throughout the country in the shortest possible time. The M3 will be funded through a mix of public funds and private finance. A significant proportion of the proposed investment in upgrading our road network is today being delivered through Public Private Partnerships which can draw in private finance. The idea behind Public Private Partnership (PPP) is to encourage close co-operation between the private sector and the public sector to deliver the overall roads programme with the private sector helping to finance part of the cost involved. Without PPPs the road programme could not be completed and the overall objectives of regional development and economic growth would be under threat.

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