Heavin calls for Longford and Westmeath bypasses to be prioritised by next government

Independent general election candidate Louise Heavin has called for bypassess in Newtown Forbes, Granard, Glasson and Ballykeeran to be prioritised by the next government.

The former Mayor of Athlone believes that instead of investing in new routes, public money would be better spent on building bypasses and addressing safety concerns on existing routes.

Speaking on recent constituency road projects, including the N55 realignment and the N4 Longford to Mullingar, Ms Heavin stated she has consistently argued that building entirely new roads is a waste of natural and monetary resources.

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"It results in twice as much road to maintain and does not address the safety problems on our existing roads," she said. “Spend some time in Granard, Glasson or Ballynahown and you will witness the noise and discomfort of the heavy traffic moving through."

Ms Heavin said there is a need to address the health and safety of our towns and villages by "removing this disruptive HGV traffic".

She stated that although our national development plan promotes living in villages and towns, the noise from traffic and dangerous driving speeds contradict that goal.

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“A key part of achieving our climate goals is creating people first town centres," Ms Heavin said. "If we prioritise the building of bypasses and addressing any black spots on existing routes, more people will be able to settle in our towns and villages, in turn increasing the footfall to shops and businesses.”