Improvements in the pipeline for city traffic ‘choke points’

Date Published: 28-Jan-2013

By Dara Bradley

Around €20 million has been allocated to improve and maintain Galway’s roads this year.

Galway City Council received an allocation of €1.8 million for its regional and local roads in 2013, a reduction in funding of 13% (€275,000) compared with the previous year’s budget.

Galway County Council, which has a far greater roads network, received an allocation of €18.1 million, a reduction of €2.1 million or around 12% less.

This year’s roads’ allocations were announced by the Department of Transport in conjunction with the National Roads Authority (NRA).

In the city, specific improvements will be carried on three roads: Ballymoneen Junction (€100,000), Fr Griffin Road (€75,000) and Wolfe Tone Bridge €100,000).

The works at Ballymoneen Junction, in the pipeline for years, include road widening along the Barna Road heading from the Knocknacarra direction towards Barna to include a slip road or filter lane for traffic turning right at the Ballymoneen Road junction. The Council is also looking at the possibility of providing a pedestrian crossing at the Ballymoneen Road across the Barna Road, a Council spokesperson confirmed.

An allocation of €45,000 is to be used at another contentious junction for all road users, at Maunsells Road, which has been described as a safety hazard due to the absence of a footpath. The Council is still in consultation with residents about the possibility of installing traffic lights at the junction of Maunsells Road and Taylors Hill.

Elsewhere, some €100,000 has been set aside for Wolfe Tone Bridge, which will be used to “proceed to a feasibility study for options on the crossing of the river”. That may include the feasibility of providing another bridge, and looking at the options of the existing bridge in the context of volumes of traffic using it.

The Council confirmed that €70,000 will be used for the Fr Griffin Road, where the issue of getting rid of right hand turns is to be looked at, at junctions such as Claddagh Quay and Raven Terrace. Full consultation with residents and all stakeholders will take place before any decisions are made, a spokesperson insisted.

Meanwhile, a further €112,000 has been allocated for Dr Mannix Road under the heading ‘low cost safety improvements’ and adding to the measures already taken there last year. It includes traffic calming measures and the possibility of a cycle lane and pedestrian crossings along the road which is in close proximity to several schools.

A large proportion of the funding for the city – €1.3 million – is in the form of a ‘block grant’ which gives Galway City Council discretion in determining which additional road projects it wishes to prioritise.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel