Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Transport the position regarding the proposed new bridge at Narrow Water, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20797/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources supplemented by State road grants paid by my Department. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

Louth County Council submitted an economic appraisal including a Cost Benefit Analysis Report and a Multi-Criteria Report to my Department in 2009 for this project. The Department subsequently asked Louth County Council to consider a number of issues relating to the appraisal and a response is awaited.

As part of its 2010 overall grant allocation, Louth County Council has been allocated a total of €0.4 million to progress this project through the design stage.