Council Chief vows to continue campaign to upgrade N61 despite thumbs down from Minister

The Roscommon County Council Chief Executive has vowed to continue the campaign for the N61 to be upgraded despite the Transport Minister’s recent decision not to accede to the local authority’s request to reclassify the route as a national primary route.

Council CEO Shane Tiernan informed councillors at a recent plenary meeting of the local authority that Minister Eamon Ryan wasn’t supportive of the council’s appeal for to upgrade the N61, which is currently a national secondary road. 

In correspondence seen by the Roscommon Herald, Transport Infrastructure Ireland wrote a brief note to Mr Tiernan last month, saying: “I refer to your application to reclassify N61 from Athlone to Boyle via Roscommon. I am instructed by the Minister for Transport to inform you that he will not be exercising his powers in relation to the reclassification of roads under Section 10(1) of the Roads Act 1993 (as amended) in this instance”.

The Council CEO told councillors at the plenary meeting that he was very disappointed with the decision particularly in light of the “great work we had done”.

Earlier this year, a detailed report had been prepared by the council calling for the reclassification of the N61 to national primary status. The Council CEO said at the time it was important that the road - - which links Athlone, Roscommon, Tulsk, and Boyle -would not become a "glorified regional road".

The Council CEO then brought the report to an annual meeting with the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) CEO. At the time, he said that while the report was looked at favourably at that TII meeting, he was informed that the decision on the reclassification was ultimately the responsibility of the Minister of Transport.

At the recent monthly meeting of the council, Mr Tiernan said the council report proposing an upgrade of the N61 proved that it aligned with national policy as an enabler for the Northwest and delivering balanced regional growth.

“But we are not stopping, we are continuing, and I have already had some representation and support from various Oireachtas members that are not satisfied with that position. It’s work in progress, we’ll put it that way,” he said.

The campaign to seek an upgrade of the N61 to a national primary route also comes against the backdrop of concerns that this national secondary road could face downgrading under the Government’s National Roads 2040 plan.