County Roscommon road branded 'lethal'

A response from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) requesting road safety improvement works at Oran, a road described by a councillor as "lethal", has been criticised.

At a previous meeting of the Roscommon Municipal District, councillors had expressed serious concern about safety on the stretch of road, particularly people speeding and overtaking at junctions. It was agreed that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) be written to, asking that works be carried out to make the stretch safer.

At the March MD meeting, Transport Infrastructure Ireland responded that once the council submitted a rationale for such a scheme, it would consider it having regard to the level of funding available. The letter said there were “many competing demands for these resources”, and that no funding application had been received to date from the council.

“To be honest, I am not happy at all with that response,” Cllr Marty McDermott said. “I don’t think they have any clue at all about what’s going on there with those junctions, and how dangerous it is. Putting a speed van there will not solve it, it is an overtaking issue.” He described the stretch of road as “lethal”, something which motorists had repeatedly highlighted to him. He said that there were no proper markings and nothing to prevent overtaking.

Cllr McDermott highlighted how good the design was for the Ballaghaderreen bypass, in terms of preventing overtaking at junctions.

“Is it going to take a fatal accident for TII to realise what we are talking about?” he asked.

Cllr Paschal Fitzmaurice suggested that the council pursue the option of installing a slow lane on the stretch. He proposed that the roads department would seek funding for a feasibility report, which was agreed.

Cllr McDermott also asked that his dissatisfaction be conveyed to TII. “I am not happy with the response, I want to make that crystal clear,” he said.

Roscommon MD Cathaoirleach Cllr Anthony Waldron said a number of people had also brought the road to his attention, particularly at the turn for Oran Cemetery, “which has to be looked at”.