'Virtually every Friday evening there is an accident' in County Roscommon village
"Virtually every Friday evening there is an accident" at the cross in Tulsk, a councillor has claimed.
The lack of action on the upgrading of a major route through Roscommon, the N61, is holding the county back, the Taoiseach was told last week.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sean Moylan raised the issue with Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the Ógra Fianna Fáil conference in Kiltoom. According to Cllr Moylan "at the cross at Tulsk, virtually every Friday evening there is an accident".
He said that it was very disappointing that the council’s application to have the route, “the spine of the county”, upgraded to a national primary route was rejected last year by the Department of Transport.
“Since then, there has been a change of government, not a complete change, but a change nonetheless,” the Tulsk man said. “On the last few occasions that I have spoken to Micheál Martin I have talked about this.” He stressed that it needed to be prioritised as a major infrastructure project.
“The quality of the N61 is the major factor holding up balanced development between the north and south of the county,” he stressed.
“The whole way from Athlone to Boyle, there is huge difficulty. At the cross at Tulsk, virtually every Friday evening there is an accident. It is not being recognised by the TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) because half of the accidents aren’t being reported.” He added that a better roadway was needed to connect workers in the north of the county to jobs in Monksland.
Cllr Moylan said that the Taoiseach was responsive but did not give any commitments on the road. “I am the only elected FF representative for the whole north of the county, and when I am asked by the Taoiseach about the major issues in my area, I always say the N61.” He said that proper safety works on a road completely changed the dynamic of a road and an area.
