Low railway bridge on busy Westport road is 'safety risk'

A low railway bridge on a busy road in Westport is an ongoing health and safety risk and must be addressed, a local councillor has said.

Fine Gael Cllr Peter Flynn put forward a motion at the recent meeting of the Westport-Belmullet Municipal District calling on the head of the district to outline what communications and investigations have been undertaken by Mayo County Council in the last four years in relation to the low railway bridge on the Ballinrobe Road (R330). It is a key entry/exit point to Westport for people coming from Ballinrobe and Partry. He also wanted to know what plans were in place to have the issue addressed.

“All four councillors passed a motion years ago to build a footpath along the Ballinrobe Road onto Sandyhill Road,” Cllr Flynn said. “We were told at the time that the only impediment was the railway bridge. I thought there was progress being made with discussions with Irish Rail and it’s now clear from our Active Travel workshop that no discussions have taken place.

“Nobody has told Irish Rail that we either want this bridge removed or an underpass or overpass. It’s really disappointing.” 

Cllr John O’Malley agreed saying that he remembers being told at a Roads Strategic Policy Committee meeting two years ago that there was funding made available to rectify the problem.