Cllr Paschal Fitzmaurice has called for urgent safety works on the N60 at Meelickaduff, Castlerea following a number of near-misses involving lorries in recent weeks.
The Fianna Fáil councillor said that one lorry has already toppled over into a ditch while two more have had ‘very close calls’ recently.
“In the past seven days two lorries have almost left this national route. The road is just too narrow for lorries passing and the verge is substandard,” he said.
“I have raised this issue on a number of occasions at this stage and at a special meeting with Transport Infrastructure Ireland in Dublin. I also raised it with TII when they visited the Council a few months ago and it was suggested by one of their officials that these works could be completed through the Minor Works Scheme.
“I want to see this happen as quickly as possible before there is a serious accident. Of those recent near-misses, one of the lorries got caught in the ditch and was very, very lucky it didn’t topple over”.
Cllr Fitzmaurice said that land would need to be purchased along the route and the road would have to be strengthened to accommodate a crash barrier.
“I have spoken to Minister Jack Chambers because I got tired of raising this issue and he has committed to raising this issue once again with TII and visiting the area to see this dangerous stretch of road first-hand,” Cllr Fitzmaurice concluded.
