Demand to replace three bridges in west Mayo - scene of 42 incidents since Easter

FORTY-TWO incidents have occurred at the three bridges in Cashel, Achill, since Easter.

Local Councillor Paul McNamara has demanded that an emergency application be made to replace them, asking is it going to take a fatality before something is done.

The latest accident involving three vehicles occurred on Sunday, and Councillor McNamara raised it with council management at a municipal district meeting the following day.

Councillor McNamara said he was aware of 42 incidents since Easter, and since their meeting last month one of the bridges has been hit three times and rebuilt twice. There's a 20 foot fall into the river.

The council probably needs a full-time blocklayer at the location to keep them built, he commented.

Acknowledging that the council introduced strips to slow traffic down and make them aware of the location, it is a regional road, he said, and people believe two cars can pass each other, which is not the case.

The councillor has been told the bridges are structurally sound. And senior engineer Heather Gibbons said the primary concern is how narrow the road is.

The roads design office are formulating a case to bring to the department for a comprehensive scheme. In the interim, locally, the municipal district would seek a low-cost safety scheme for a yield system that would see just one lane of traffic on the bridges.

This would reduce the risk of collision, municipal head Seamus O'Mongáin stressed, and an application for widening would run parallel to it.

Councillor McNamara described a yield sign as being a 'get out of jail card' for the roads department.

He was going to go and get an independent structural report on the bridges as well as a safety statement, he said.

And he asked that an emergency application go up to the department to immediately replace the bridges.

District cathaoirleach Councillor Brendan Mulroy described the figure of 42 incidents since Easter as 'stark' and he felt they should organise a protest.

He asked that the health and safety officer would visit the location with Councillor McNamara to discuss the situation.

He also noted how his colleague has raised the issues 26 or 27 times in the council chamber since being elected.

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