Independent Councillor Michael Holmes has spoken out against the National Roads Authority for what he describes as “inefficient allocation of funding” in the upgrade of a section of the N59 road between Mulranny and Newport.
The NRA decided to grant €700,000 to resurface the road at Newfield, despite being lobbied to prioritise a much more dangerous, accident prone spot just a mile away.
While Cllr Holmes said he welcomed any investment in the N59, he slammed the NRA for their failure to identify and provide funding for one of the most dangerous sections of the road. “Despite our strong requests and recommendations, the NRA refused to move works further east towards Newport, where the severely substandard condition of the road has contributed to numerous accidents. Mayo County Council engineers met with NRA engineers, and stressed to them that the area of the road that they had earmarked was not in urgent need of resurfacing, particularly in comparison to a section of the road just a mile away.”
According to Cllr Holmes, this decision demonstrates negligence on the part of the NRA. “This inefficient allocation of funding is putting lives at risk. Surely, the NRA should make it a priority to deal with the most dangerous blackspots on our road. It now remains to be seen if and when this section of the road will be resurfaced. They did mention the possibility of including it in next year's budget. However, under the current economic climate and cutbacks in public spending, it appears doubtful that this will be the case,” he concluded.
