Frank Godfrey was a popular councillor and a former Mayor of Drogheda who championed many causes over many years. He lost his seat at the last elections, but this has not stopped him from campaigning.
In 2018 he campaigned for the Obelisk Bridge at Oldbridge to be repaired and over the bank holiday weekend he was back on the bridge, this time with several followers supporting him.
Since that campaign, Louth County Council has announced that it is to carry out extensive works on the bridge costing in the region of €1million but Frank is concerned about the extent of those works and the manner in which they will be carried out.
He says that the bridge is in a very scenic area of the Boyne Valley on the site off the Battle of the Boyne and is very close to people’s hearts so he wants the plans for the bridge to be put on public display at the Council offices and also at the Tholsel so they can see what the work will entail.
“Consultation with the people on this topic is very important” he told Drogheda Life. “There can be no doubt that the closure of the bridge for up to a year will mean a tremendous amount of inconvenience for people who use the bridge every day.”
He suggested that theM1 tolls be suspended for the duration of the repair job on the bridge which many people use as a rat run to avoid paying the toll.
Frank said the Obelisk bridge is in a very poor state of repair with the ironwork very badly rusted and the whole thing swaying with the weight of the traffic crossing it.
He is laying the blame firmly at the door of Louth County Council for this. He says they have neglected the bridge for over half a century.
“This is a landmark bridge and I’m glad that the Council has finally realised that and is committed to repairing it” he said. “However, I don’t want them to modernise it, just repair the ironwork and replace and repair the stonework where necessary.”
“The reason we are protesting is that we don’t want to see the destruction of the bridge. However, we welcome any maintenance and repairs which should have been carried out years ago.”
“All the repair work must be carried out in a sensitive manner” he added.
