Bridge work to spark traffic disruption for two months

From the day after St Patrick’s Day there will be widespread traffic chaos across the city as motorists adjust to a new one-way system and eliminated right hand turns while the road at Lough Atalia Railway Bridge is being lowered.

The major traffic disruption will be in place for two months and will likely have a knock-on effect across all major routes after the City Council decided to implement a full road closure to ensure the project gets completed as quickly as possible.

Funding of €2m was confirmed this week for the road works, which are being carried out to avoid large trucks striking the rail bridge.

With the contract due to be signed next week, work is scheduled to begin in the first week of March with the road earmarked for closure on March 18. This is due to remain closed until mid-May with further work likely to take another three weeks at most.

A one-way traffic system will operate towards the city on Lough Atalia Road and the Fairgreen Road and outbound on College Road.

There will be no right turns permitted from Moneenageisha Road to College Road or from Dublin Road to Wellpark Road.

Traffic will not be permitted to go straight through from Bóthar Uí Eithir to the Fairgreen Road.

Director of Services for Transportation and Infrastructure Joe O’Neill said there may be some leeway to shorten the schedule, but it was necessary to close the road altogether so that the project would be finalised in as quick a timeframe as possible.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune.