The bypass at Castleblayney will open today, according to Monaghan County Council, after a member of the local authority expressed anger that it had been closed for two weeks so that council workers could “cut the grass”.
Sinn Féin councillor Brian McKenna said the closure of the bypass on the N2 Dublin-Derry route was “absolute madness”.
The council said the closure was to accommodate “essential maintenance”.
Mr McKenna said: “Now we have the road closed for a fortnight because they are cutting grass on a part of the bypass, resulting in it being closed for two weeks.
“It is madness, it’s nonsensical. The town of Castleblayney virtually came to a standstill last week with all the heavy vehicles coming back, when we thought they had got rid of that problem. It’s just madness.”
Mr McKenna said the county manager, David Fallon, had told him that a crash barrier damaged in a recent accident and the health and safety of the people carrying out the work had also to be considered.
“But we are in the middle of the summer, with bright evenings and early morning light, so I still think to totally close the bypass for two weeks is absolute madness.”
In a statement yesterday morning Monaghan County Council defended the decision to shut down the entire bypass.
“There were other works that also needed to be done, such as drainage and litter collecting, and we are confident the bypass will reopen on Friday evening .”