County Roscommon junction ‘probably the worst in the country’

An extremely dangerous junction in South Roscommon was highlighted at a meeting of Athlone Municipal District.

During the meeting, Cllr Tony Ward asked the council to remove the “very dangerous junction” in the Curraghboy area.

“This junction is situated on the Curraghboy-Athlone Road R362. On approaching the junction travelling from Kilcar on the L2016-0 and upon turning right for Athlone, there is no visible view of oncoming traffic and this is extremely dangerous,” his motion said.

Cllr Ward asked that the junction be included in the Low-Cost Safety Scheme for this year.

In response, the council said the 2025 Low-Cost Safety Scheme was closed for applications and funding had been allocated. It added that it would consider applying for a Low Cost Safety Scheme Application for next year to improve sightlines towards Athlone at this junction. It also noted that any scheme at this location would require the co-operation of local landowners.

Cllr Ward said this was the second time he had tabled this motion at a meeting of the MD.

“It is probably the worse junction in the country. It is very, very unsafe, there are approximately 20 families using the junction,” he said. He said that cars had to come half way out onto the road before they could see oncoming traffic.

“There will be a lot of work involved in this, and it is not going to be cheap. There are a huge amount of trees and there are no sightlines,” he said.

He called for action on this long running issue.

MD Cathaoirleach Cllr John Keogh seconded the motion, asking that it be given priority for 2026.

The motion was supported by the other councillors, and Cllr Ward thanked them for their support.

“I am very concerned about it and my constituents are approaching me on a regular basis about it. All I want is safety for people that are using the road,” he said.

MD co-ordinator Susan Loughnane said she was very aware of the issues at the junction and would give priority to it in 2026.

“In the meantime, we will carry out some works on it,” she said.