*Cllr Pat O’Gorman (inset) raised concerns of lengthy delays after a section of the N18 dual-carriageway was closed to traffic on recently after a van collided with a high-tension cable barrier.
CONCERNS have been raised over the lengthy closure of a busy Clare commuter road following a collision involving a van and a high-tension cable barrier.
A section of the N18 dual-carriageway was closed to traffic on Sunday, September 6, after a van collided with a high-tension cable barrier.
The incident occurred at around 1.15pm on the northbound carriageway between the footbridge at Setrights and the turn-off for Ballymorris in Cratloe. The route was partially reopened at around 6.30pm after TII technicians worked to make the damaged barrier safe.
Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) raised his concerns at Tuesday’s meeting of the Shannon Municipal District, saying that “babies were left without baby food and adults without water” during the closure. He expressed concern that people who were sick and travelling home from hospital appointments in Limerick were stuck in traffic for prolonged periods of time.
Cllr O’Gorman also noted the lack of toilets for those waiting, saying some people were “going into the bushes and ditches along the side of the motorway to go to the toilet” out of necessity. He raised concerns that local counterflow systems were not put in place, despite local areas such as Cratloe and Sixmilebridge having them planned.
He said the road should not have been closed for “six to seven hours”, pointing out that the van was on four wheels, had not overturned and no one was killed or injured. Cllr O’Gorman expressed his belief that the “work should have been done at 4am” when fewer people were commuting on the road.
Due to the prolonged road closure, traffic was diverted onto roads that “are not capable” of handling that volume of traffic, with Cllr O’Gorman giving his locality of Cratloe as an example.
He questioned if the council could liaise with Transport Infrastructure Ireland “to have a better system”, saying: “We have the counterflow systems but they don’t seem to open”.
Cathaoirleach of the Shannon MD, Cllr Michael Begley (IND), said the systems used by the fire brigade and Gardaí “need to be looked at”. He pointed to a similar incident a number of months ago on the R463 where “a car turned over inside the ditch, no part of it on the road, no debris on the road”.
“The fire brigade were called for no reason because the two people that were in the car got out fine. Not alone were the fire brigade there but they had to hold the scene until the Gardaí arrived,” he said.
Cllr Begley said the Gardaí were delayed in arriving and, as a result, the fire brigade could not leave the scene or open the road.
He said the incident continued for around two and a half hours despite nobody being injured, no other vehicle being involved and no damage being caused to the road.
Cllr Begley said the “minor incident on a quiet road” had held up the whole road, arguing that a recovery van “could have taken a photo, taken the car away and opened the road” without delay.
Cllr David Griffin (FF) also supported Cllr O’Gorman’s concerns, highlighting his previous experience of regularly travelling the M50 to Dublin. He said the M50 “wouldn’t close the road for five to seven hours”.
Cllr Griffin suggested asking TII to meet with local representatives, saying they “can’t continue to allow people to sit for hours on end with no hope in sight for something minor”.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
