The Government has been criticised for not prioritising the bypass of Slane village which was promised following a series of fatal accidents at Slane Bridge that have claimed at least 20 lives in living memory.
The bypass was demanded by local people after the death of a child when a lorry rolled over the car in which he was a passenger as both vehicles waited at traffic lights to cross the bridge in February 2001.
The village is on the main Dublin-Derry road, and local people claim the volume of heavy goods vehicles using the road has increased since the opening of the nearby Drogheda bypass last year because the motorway is tolled.
Meath County Council said the bypass was a "stand by" scheme, which meant its progress past the selection of the proposed route depended on funding being made available, either because another scheme did not proceed or as a result of savings made elsewhere and reallocated.
While traffic-calming measures have been introduced and HGVs are separated from other vehicles before they cross the bridge, the possibility that the bypass will not go ahead unless another scheme is cancelled provoked angry reaction from Cllr Anne Dillon-Gallagher.
"I suspect that the NRA has no intention of giving it the go-ahead, and it looks like Slane is being pushed further down the list, and the M3 motorway will get priority. It is time the Government told us whether they are going to fund the bypass or not," she said.
A spokesman for the NRA said a decision on the preferred route would be made in August when the budget for the scheme, which will be influenced by the route, would be discussed.
A council representative said it was preparing for the scheme, "and will have it ready to go if it gets the funding at a later stage".