Councillors call for improved measures at rural crossroads

There are renewed demands for improved safety measures at a junction in a rural part of East Galway has seen a number of lives over the past few years.

The junction at Nutfield Cross claimed the life of a motorist back in 2014 – and according to Cllr Dermot Connolly at this week’s meeting of Galway County Council, another motorist was killed there in the past year.

The junction is located on the road between Ballinasloe and Kilconnell and it seems that a stop sign on one side is obscured because of overgrown shrubbery.

That has led the Sinn Fein Councillor to call for a staggered junction to be provided.

Cllr Connolly asked officials to make funding available in an effort to prevent further fatalities from taking place.

“I don’t care what it costs but to save a life at this junction is worth any money in my opinion.

“There are crashes there on a monthly basis and it is mainly due to the fact that cars are crossing the junction without stopping,” Cllr Connolly added.

It was announced a couple of years ago that €70,000 had been earmarked for improvements to be carried out but Cllr Connolly said that collisions were still occurring at this location.

He has now asked officials to advance works at the junction before another life is lost. He is calling for a special meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council to be convened with just this item on the agenda.

Chief Executive of Galway County Council, Kevin Kelly told the meeting that an additional €1 million of a roads grant had been secured and that Nutfield Cross will be a project for serious consideration. He asked the councillors from the Ballinasloe area to make a submission in this regard.

Cllr Aidan Donohue, who had previously raised the issue at Ballinasloe Municipal Council level, said that it would be ideal for a Low Cost Works Scheme and did not believe that it would take a colossal amount of money to put right.

He is now hoping that any funding made available be used to provide a staggered junction – similar to the works that were carried out several years ago at Cossan Cross on the main Athenry to Tuam road.

Even Gardaí in Ballinasloe have agreed that the junction at Nutfield Cross has been the scene of an unacceptable number of accidents over the past ten years.

It seems that there is a difficulty for motorists approaching the main Ballinasloe to Kilconnell road in identifying the ‘stop’ sign at the junction as it is obscured.

“It is a straight crossroads and motorists coming from the minor roads often cross without looking. It has been the scene of quite a number of serious accidents in recent years,” explained Cllr Donohue.