Roadworks lead to lengthy traffic delays in Mayo
The roadworks has caused lengthy delays.
Motorists are being caught in traffic delays for over two hours between Newport and Mulranny due to ongoing upgrade works on the N59.
Achill-based councillor Paul McNamara raised the matter at last week's meeting of Westport-Belmullet Municipal District when he sought assistance from council management on the matter.
In an update to the forum on the N59 works, senior engineer at the council's roads office Paul Hyland said the project entails the development of 5km of roadway from Newport to Derradda at a cost of over €31 million. Accommodation works for all landowners is progressing, but slowly, and overall progress of the project is at 31%, and the anticipated date for substantial completion is October 2027, when in theory, “the road should be ready for opening but that very much depends on the contractor".
Cllr McNamara commented that while the funding is very welcome, there are issues with time delays along the route due to the roadworks, adding that there had been "absolute chaos" in recent weeks with tailbacks all the way out both the Castlebar and Westport roads, with some journeys to Achill taking more than three hours.
“I just think there should be better planning in place at weekends and times of heavy traffic, and the stop and go system should respond quicker. It takes just one person to jump the lights, and it is all in a heap.
"Businesses in Newport will lose out if motorists decide not to go in to do their shopping because it can now take an hour to get in due to the works.”
Cllr McNamara also expressed concern in relation to phase two of the N59 works, which will see a further 8km of the route upgraded, requesting that it all take place seamlessly as one large project, rather than having a new series of delays arise again at a later date.
“We could be three years on this phase and if the same goes for the next phase, it will be six years of chaos on the N59. So phase two should be brought forward and awarded to a contractor as soon as possible, particularly for the sake of local people. Newport is a small urban town and the last thing they want is people not stopping or shopping because of traffic delays.”
Cllr Chris Maxwell said the impact of the works was even being felt in Louisburgh, as people bringing livestock to the town were caught for hours on the far side of Newport with the roadworks, telling management: “There is a need for better management, not to have people sitting at traffic lights running into hours. These are short journeys and it is just not on.”
Cllr Peter Flynn welcomed the “massive investment” in the road and said the same situation applied when the Newport to Westport section was being constructed with three sets of traffic lights along the way. He added: “But I have not heard anyone say otherwise than that is such a great job. Unfortunately, disruption is part of these projects and if we can get to 2027 and get it done, that is the main thing.”
Cllr John O’Malley agreed, saying: “It is a great project surely, but I do know there is an awful problem with traffic, and some people do cross the lights. I suggest somebody should be there to direct traffic as it would be one way of keeping the traffic moving.”
Mr Hyland said the council has liaised with the contractor after the traffic management system was indeed overwhelmed in recent weekends leading to lengthy delays. Pointing out that “The N59 is a very complex and challenging scheme, where ground conditions are extremely difficult”, he added: “Ultimately, it is the contractor’s responsibility. They have made adjustments to the traffic flows and have committed to overriding the system with workers to do stop-go and alleviate any significant delays, particularly at weekends. Hopefully it will calm down to normal levels in a month.”
In regard to phase two of the project, he said Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has agreed for the council to procure a consultant to design the last 10km and patch it all together as one design project. However, “there is no funding yet and we were very lucky to get the current funding given the current challenging times".
Mr Hyland said that altogether, funding for the project will amount to between €80-€90 million, which is a huge investment by TII, “especially in the context of other national projects they are funding".
- Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
