Public's views sought on dangerous junction scheme

A public consultation on a scheme aiming to resolve what has been described as one of the most dangerous junctions in the county will get underway on Monday

On Monday Roscommon County Council will hold a Non-Statutory Public Consultation Event at the Hodson Bay Hotel for the proposed St Brigid's Road Safety Improvement Scheme. The event will run from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m..

The council is inviting the public to attend the consultation event, view the proposals, and share their views. Feedback from this event will inform the ongoing design of the project.

The proposed Junction Optimisation Scheme for St Brigid's and the surrounding junctions will cover approximately 2.0km of the N61, commencing 0.6km north of the Kiltoom Road/N61 Junction and extending northwards.

“Within this 1.8km stretch, the N61 intersects with five local roads, creating a total of six junctions. Notably, the crossroads formed by the L7554 and L7556 is considered the most hazardous, having recorded five collisions,” the council said. 

“The area exhibits a high density of junctions and accesses, comprising five T-junctions, one crossroads, ten house accesses, and three field accesses, many of which do not meet current standards and pose a significant safety risk due to non-compliant features such as incorrect approach gradients, approach angles, or positioning.” The council said it is seeking the public’s feedback on the initial design concepts and layout proposals, which will be available for viewing at the consultation. The online consultation portal is also available here .

All are welcome to attend the in-person consultation event. Views and feedback can also be provided via the Consult Roscommon website portal or by emailing roads@roscommoncoco.ie, before November 7th.

Cllr Laurence Fallon is also calling on people to make their views known. “The scheme is part of the attempt to upgrade the N61 from Roscommon to Athlone. An in-depth study was carried out which identified approximately 130 ‘pinchpoints’ on the road. Three of these, St Brigid’s, St John’s Church, and one in Ballymurray, are being progressed by the TII,” he said. 

“I would argue that St Brigid’s is the most dangerous of all. It needs a whole realignment, and a turning lane is needed.” 

The Purts junction also needs to be examined, the councillor said. “The line marking at the Purts junction is wrong, to the south of it should be a continuous white line and it is not,” he said.

He said that he was aware that work was underway examining the St John's Junction, and he asked that Nolan’s Junction also be included as they are linked.