The elected members of Mayo County Council for the Belmullet area expressed their outrage at the condition of the N59 from Belmullet to Castlebar at a meeting of the electoral area committee this week, after they were informed that the NRA had requested a report on the damage caused to the N59 during the spell of freezing weather. “I’m dismayed, I don’t know where to start or finish,” Fine Gael Councillor Gerry Coyle told the meeting. “I was out on that road the last day and there are flashing signs warning people of potholes ahead and spotlights pointing at nothing, they’re not pointing at the potholes. Between Bangor and Belmullet there are potholes that you would need a lifeguard on because they are so big. You have to have an NCT for your car, but you could leave the house and your car would be fine for the NCT, but when you get to Ballina it wouldn’t pass because of the potholes you’ve hit. I want to know how much these lights and signs are costing.”
Independent Cllr Michael Holmes told the meeting: “The NRA are putting people’s lives in danger, it doesn’t surprise me that they have requested a report rather than fix the problem. Mayo County Council can’t be blamed for the fact it snowed, but it happened and now we have to move on and not look back. Those potholes have to be filled at some stage so let’s get it done, if we have to take money from our roads budget for elsewhere so be it.”
