Achill councillor embarrassed by state of subsiding road

AN Achill councillor said he is embarrassed as a local representative and drive along part of the R319. The section, he says, has become dangerous due to subsidence.

Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McNamara told the monthly meeting of the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District that a special allocation of funding has to be applied to restore a section of the R319 at Owenduff near Tonragee.

The Achill-based councillor said he travels that section of road every day and said it has become a safety issue because swerve onto the opposite lane to avoid going into the dip.

“It is an embarrassment as an elected representative to drive through Tonragee that I cannot get anything done with that road,” he said.

Swerving

“The road has actually subsided when you are heading to Mulranny on the left hand side. When you are travelling behind a car, the car in front of you actually swerves to avoid the dip there and if there is oncoming traffic they will be straight into it. It is very dangerous. I have made Mayo County Council quite aware of the situation and it needs to be dealt with,” he added.

Cllr McNamara was critical at the level of funding given to local and regional roads in the municipal district and pointed out that this summer only 250 metres of the 35km R319 was resurfaced.

“The R319 is around 35km from Mulranny right into Achill, and having only 250 metres done in Keel is not good enough for the length of road in question. To me there is some serious dangerous spots on the road, and one in particular in Owenduff in Tonragee, which is definitely a health and safety matter.

“I would like a report on the road immediately and ask that a special allocation of funding be requested for an upgrade of the R319 in Achill. If we only do 250 metres of road every year it will be 100 years before there is any shape put onto it,” he said.

Heavy rains

Meanwhile, Padraig Walsh, the Head of the Municipal District informed councillors that the heavy rails in July has resulted in the road works programme running behind schedule.

“It has been fairly significantly disrupted by thundery downpours and unexpectedly inclement weather for summer. We are getting through it, but realistically [works] will probably be a few weeks later than we thought, because in certain weather conditions you just have to stop. We had hoped to complete it in July, but the weather put paid to that, so some of it will be into August,” he said.