Clare County Council is being urged to take greater action to upgrade West Clare’s roads network which is said to be “ignored”.
It come amid growing concern over road safety on the N67 and N68 with Chair of the Safer Clare Campaign, June Dillon, requesting clarity on plans for the enhancement of the routes from the Transport Minister.
Through a series of parliamentary questions, the minister has been asked to clarify if any feasability studies or safety audits were carried out on the roads in the past five years, and if any works were identified as necessary along with plans and timelines for any upgrade works.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has confirmed that it doesn’t initiate projects but rather funds schemes proposed by local authorities, claiming responsibility for assessing and designing roads lies with Clare County Council.
TII also doesn’t currently designate the N67 and N68 as “high collision locations” but states this doesn’t prevent the council from advancing safety or upgrade schemes on the routes.
Clare Aontú rep June Dillon says West Clare communities are being “decimated” due to the lack of a viable roads network.
Clare County Council claims a “constant push” to acquire funding for the roads network from Transport Infrastructure Ireland is ongoing.
Senior Roads Engineer Cyril Feeney, says up to 20 schemes across both the N67 and N68 are going through various stages of development but claims not all projects will receive adequate funding to allow them to come to fruition.
He says funding is targeted based on traffic volume figures supplied by TII while adhering to current government policy regarding upgrading the roads network.
You can listen to the full interview here:
