'Crazy' TII delays holding up start of upgrade of dangerous Newport street

THE delay in getting approval from Transport Infrastructure Ireland to advance safety works along George's Street in Newport was described as 'crazy' by a local councillor.

Works to improve the safety of pedestrians along the notoriously dangerous George's Street in Newport have been mired in delays with expected start dates continuously pushed back.

A new 200 metre long footpath is to be developed along the left hand side of the street as you travel towards Achill along with a pedestrian crossing at the Glenhest Road. The work was originally due to start in September and be completed within four weeks but delays in the project pushed the start date to 'early in the new year'.

Work has yet to begin on the project and the February meeting of the Westport/Belmullet Municipal District heard that Mayo County Council are still awaiting the TII approval on the tender report which was forwarded to them before Christmas.

“We are waiting for approval of tender reports from TII and that hasn't happened yet,” Padraig Walsh, Head of the Municipal District told the meeting. “On a positive note an allocation [for George's Street] is included in the works for this year's [roadworks] allocation which is very positive but they haven't had the tender report approved.”

Westport-based councillor Peter Flynn who raised the matter at the meeting described the bureaucracy involved in delaying the project as crazy and called on the TII to advance the project.

“We talked about getting this started in January and my understanding is the TII are the reason for the hold up and everything has been done from Mayo County Council's side of things. Again I am asking for a formal response preferably before the next meeting as to why this work hasn't commenced. It is absolutely crazy that the money is there and the contractors are ready to rock and roll and yet there is no work on it,” he said.

George's Street links the centre of Newport with the busy N59 Mulranny Road and is considered a hazard by many residents due to its narrow footpaths and the lack of safe crossing points and fast moving traffic.

In recent years, a number of residents living along George’s Street in Newport and in the vicinity of the street have campaigned for safety works for the street and expressed frustration at the lack of progress in addressing safety concerns.