Road improvements delayed despite funding allocation

Works at a notorious junction in East Galway are taking much longer to get off the ground than senior officials had envisaged – despite an allocation of €300,000 to do the work earlier this year.

As it stands, none of that money has been spent on safety works at Nutfield Cross – between Ballinasloe and Kilconnell – which has been the scene of numerous collisions over the years.

Instead this has become a long drawn-out affair as this issue was first raised around three years ago when local Ballinasloe councillors demanded action.

Senior Engineer Damien Mitchell said that while money may have been ringfenced for the project, there was still ongoing consultations with landowners affected by any works that would take place.

He said that once there has been agreement, the project will go out to contract. “We cannot move until all agreements have been reached. It has taken much longer than I had hoped,” he admitted.

Mr Mitchell told a meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council that until agreement had been reached with all the stakeholders involved, it could not be “signed and sealed”.

But Cllr Timmy Broderick accused the Council of a ‘cart before the horse’ situation in that there should be a design in place in advance of consulting with the local landowners.

Mr Mitchell responded by saying that it was not a case of acquiring land but they had to protect the lands involved in any changes to the junction. “We cannot really progress without full agreement and local consultations will continue,” he added.

Fears had been expressed that the allocation of €300,000 to carry out improvements at Nutfield Cross will be lost if it is not used.

The Council have made little progress in progressing a staggered junction at this location – despite being in possession of the required funding for more than nine months.

Independent Cllr Broderick said that the funding could be lost to the county if it is not used by the end of the year.

He expressed dismay over the fact that the roads section of the Council had not moved on the project or engaged with the stakeholders to progress the junction upgrade.

“On a weekly basis I am contacted about Nutfield Cross to find out if there are any works taking place because it is an accident waiting to happen. The Council are simply dragging their heels on the matter,” said Kilconnell-based Cllr Broderick.

The junction at Nutfield Cross claimed the life of a motorist back in 2014 and it is the scene of collisions and ‘near misses’ on a regular basis.