Mayo drivers taking 'dangerous shortcut' to avoid lengthy diversion

Frustrated residents living along a narrow local road say they are being forced to deal with dangerously high volumes of traffic as motorists look for a shortcut around the diversion put in place to facilitate works on a busy road.

The N58 Straide River Bridge has been closed since August 11 to facilitate its demolition and replacement, with the road not due to reopen until December 4. The official diversion takes motorists along the R321 from its junction with the N58 at Ballylahan to the N5 at Bohola, then continues along the N5 to its junction with the N58 at Ballyvary, a route of approximately 11km. However, motorists have discovered a shorter alternative using the L7141 and surrounding local roads, resulting in what residents describe as a significant and potentially dangerous increase in traffic.

The L7141 is a particularly narrow road, with residents saying it is only wide enough for one car in places, meaning motorists are often forced to reverse to let oncoming vehicles pass. They fear the situation will become even more acute as schools return and traffic volumes increase.

Residents have called for the installation of pull-in areas at regular intervals to allow vehicles to pass safely, and have also suggested that personnel could be stationed at junctions to ensure the route is being used by residents rather than through-traffic.

The issue was raised at a meeting of the Claremorris and Swinford Municipal District by Cllr Neil Cruise, who said he has received numerous representations from residents. While acknowledging that the bridge itself is outside the municipal district, Cllr Cruise noted the closure was having a wider impact on traffic travelling through the district. He said he had driven the local road himself to see the situation first-hand and found it unsuitable for the volume and type of traffic now using it, with larger vehicles and heavy goods vehicles starting to take the shortcut.

 “[Residents] are complaining about a huge volume of traffic. There are some areas where you can pull in, but they are on the sides of blind corners and on bumps in the road. There are a lot of people having to reverse on that road to go back and allow someone to pass,” he said. “There are a lot of oversized trucks beginning to use it, there are couriers beginning to use it because naturally it is faster, and it's becoming a big problem."

Cllr Cruise warned that the problem will continue to get worse as the bridge is not due to reopen until early December. He described the timeframe as a "horribly long time to replace a bridge".

He asked for action to be taken to address the residents' concerns, and pointed to the wider volume of traffic affected by the closure, noting that more than 9,000 vehicles travel through Foxford each day towards Castlebar.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.