The elected members of the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District have approved the extinguishing of two rights of way along the N17 to pave the way for the construction of a new bridge at the Lisduff junction.
The extinguishing of the rights of way will be for the county roads LS5572-0 and LS5572-1 in the townland of Clare, with the first for a distance of seven metres and the second for a distance of 10 meters.
Senior engineer for Mayo County Council, Conrad Harley, told the meeting of the municipal district this week that the council had held a workshop on the issue and put the closure out for public consultation - the council had received six responses from the public as a result. He also told the councillors it was being recommended that the rights of way not be extinguished until the bridge project had been completed. The council would try to facilitate the concerns raised in some of the submissions. He also outlined that another road closure would come before them when the bridge moves to planning stage.
Claremorris based independent councillor, Richard Finn, proposed the item, saying it was in the interest of road safety and that had to be agreed before the project could move on. He was supported by Fine Gael councillor, Tom Connolly, who told the meeting there had been 14 accidents at the junction in recent years.
