Notorious railway bridge on busy Mayo road set to be replaced

A notorious railway bridge on the N60 between Claremorris and Ballyhaunis is to be rebuilt.

Members of Claremorris Swinford Municipal District have approved a proposal by Mayo County Council to replace the existing Bekan Bridge and remedy the serious misalignment of the road. Councillors had been advised of several instances of debris falling from the structure. A public consultation evoked just one submission from a landowner, whose concerns are being met.

A technical approval process with Irish Rail is to be undertaken by the council and it is hoped that work will commence next year or, at the latest, in 2027.

Supporting the move, Cllr Richard Finn said the matter had been ongoing for years and welcomed the fact that there was “light now at the end of the tunnel”.

“We look forward to the completion of this project. It will be a great help along that road because many a person has hit those walls with damage done to their own property. So it will be major progress also from the point of view of health and safety.”

Cllr Patsy O’Brien asked for a moment “to think of the people who lost their lives there”, saying: “There have been many accidents at that bridge. It is one of those bridges that you can’t see anything to the right of it until it’s too late, so this is certainly a good news story.”

Cllr Alma Gallagher said the location was an accident blackspot, adding: “There is also a vacant station house there below with a lot of history to it in terms of emigration, etc, which we would hope could also form part of a project. Compliments to the team and all involved in this work, it puts the emphasis now on how Irish Rail can improve bridges and I would like to see more of that in terms of other bridges in our district.”

Cllr Gerry Murray noted that under the allocated funding, provision was being made for double tracking at the location.

In a written report, Senior Planner John McMyler, who recommended the project proceed, stated: “The project will involve the construction of a new rail overbridge along with a road realignment of both approaches to the bridge in order to improve road safety at the site.

“At present, there are safety concerns with many vehicular collisions occurring at the bridge where the parapet walls are being struck. There are sharp bends on both approaches with Vehicle Restraint Systems in place, which are continuously being struck also and require frequent repair/replacement.”

Mr McMyler advised that works on the project, named the N60 Road Realignment and Rail Overbridge at Cuilbeg and Belesker, will comprise the construction of a new railway overbridge with approximately 700m road realignment to include an embankment and road carriageway construction or realignment. The proposed works are subject to specific grant allocations being made available.