Ballaghaderreen fears mount over non-gritting of ‘old’ N5 road

Ballaghaderreen fears mount over non-gritting of ‘old’ N5 road


Michael Commins

A spate of accidents on the ‘old’ N5 road on either side of Ballaghaderreen town over the past two weeks has led to the formation of the N5 Concerned Residents Committee. Residents claim that the non-gritting of the road has led directly to the accidents which have seen two lorries and five cars go off the road in the icy conditions in the last few weeks.
Now, the group wants Roscommon County Council to reverse the decision they made to down grade the N5 and stop salting it in the aftermath of the opening of the Ballaghaderreen bypass.
“Due to the frustration and fear of a lot of local people about this serious issue we have decided to start a petition to get this road upgraded to its rightful status and keep it treated during the bad weather,” says Regina McDermott from Tibohine.
“Bus Éireann and local hauliers use the road constantly.
“There are major fears that there is a tragedy waiting to happen if the Council does not revert to gritting this road during these spells of icy weather.”
Letter
In a letter to Martina Durkan of the N5 Concerned Residents Committee, a spokesperson for Roscommon County Council said gritting is confined to the National and Regional roads only. “The old N5 did form part of the Council’s gritting route up to 2015 but this roadway has now been downgraded to Local Road status since the official opening of the Ballaghaderreen By Pass. Therefore, under the Council’s Winter Service Plan, the Local Road between Tibohine and Ballaghaderreen would not be included because it has been downgraded to Local Road status as indeed has the old N5 road between Ballaghaderreen and the Mayo County Boundary.
“However, I will raise your concerns with the Ballaghaderreen Area Office to establish if there is any possibility of addressing the issue at local level, particularly in extreme weather conditions,” he said.
Strong support for the action of the N5 Concerned Residents Committee has since come in from Senator John Kelly (Labour) and Cllrs Michael Mulligan (Sinn Féin) and Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael). Hopes are high that the problem will receive a favourable response from Roscommon County Council.