Dr. Conor Patterson:

-----should the Newry River and Carlingford Lough estuary be bridged, and we all believe it should be, as long as it works for its intended purposes the location of the bridge does not really matter to us. The purpose for which it is intended must include a link to the main A1-N1 route, which is the Dublin-Belfast road. Otherwise, the bridge would only service the local population in Omeath and Warrenpoint. The road infrastructure between Newry and Omeath is very poor. We would have a concern over the practical value of a bridge, wherever it is, without a link to the main North-South axis. If the bridge were located at the envisaged point in Narrow Water Castle or just beyond it, then it would bridge into the Republic's jurisdiction from Northern Ireland and it then becomes a cross-Border project with inter-jurisdictional connectivity. On balance, that would seem to be the favourable route, as long as there is a link to the main road.