A Longford councillor believes that the progress of the N4 Mullingar to Rooskey upgrade project is being held back by the Department of Transport.
Longford County Councillors are calling for a meeting with the Minister for Transport over concerns on the progress over plans for the national route.
The project to upgrade the road through Longford and Westmeath was shelved in 2009 due to the financial crisis, and work didn't start again until the last couple of years when the project had to start from scratch.
Following a unanimously supported motion from Councillor Seamus Butler at the January meeting of Longford County Council, local representatives are now seeking to meet with Minister Eamon Ryan and Junior Minister Jack Chambers to highlight the urgency of the works.
Responding to the motion, a local authority official confirmed that route options would be expected in the next number off weeks.
Supporting the motion at yesterday's meeting, Fine Gael Councillor Padraig Brady urged Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan to confirm whether the works have a future or not:
"Local people cannot even get planning for a one-off house on their land because it's a preferred route, one of five routes in our area. We need a route picked and we need them to move on with that route. That's what I've called for here, that Minister Ryan is straight and honest with the people of Longford. He's either going to support or not. If he doesn't support it say that he's totally against it and tell us once and for all that this isn't going to go ahead. I'm on my second term elected here and I could be on my third or my fourth one by the time this road is completed. It is Minister Ryan, in my opinion, that has held this back".
