The controversial N59 project which includes a bypass of Crossmolina looks like it will remain in limbo for some time to come. At the February meeting of the Ballina Electoral Area, the elected members agreed a route for the N59 from Ballina to Crossmolina and further on to the west of the county. However the route was not approved when it came to a full meeting of Mayo County Council, following a large volume of opposition from people in Crossmolina because it would bypass the town. By not approving the proposed route at the full council meeting, the members have sterilised the land around original five proposed routes which were put before the members. However even if they do this, it will still leave the project and the lands effected by this in limbo.
“We’re going to have rescinding the previous decision on the agenda for the next meeting, that’s what we can do now,” Cllr Jarlath Munnelly who is the chairperson of the committee told the Mayo Advertiser yesterday. “At that stage then we can ask the NRA to look at it again and work on making changes, but that will still leave all the proposed routes in play and the lands sterilised until a new route and direction is chosen.”
Fine Gael councillor Eddie Staunton told the meeting that he was not for turning on the issue. “As a councillor that lives and works in the area, my position still stands, this is not going to happen,” he said.
“That’s the feeling out there, the business people of Crossmolina don’t want a bypass and that’s it. I’m totally opposed to it and now we have farmers who have their lands frozen all over the area and they can’t give land to their sons our daughters to build a house on it because of it.”
Independent councillor Gerry Ginty also opposed the proposed plans. “ I don’t think the people of that area need it, maybe in 20 to 25 years it will be needed but not now,” Cllr Ginty said. “We should look at improving the road that is currently there for a fraction of the price. There is no need for a bypass and the people in Crossmolina who run business there can’t live and survive with a bypass.” Fine Gael councillor Seamus Weir asked why they could not just approve the route as far as Hiney’s funeral home in Crossmolina. “We can all approve the route that far and then look at the next stage again later on,” he said.
Tony McNulty from the roads design office in Mayo County Council told the meeting, “We have a development plan to try and get the county to develop in a certain way over a period of time. This road is an objective in this plan and we try and have lines drawn on maps to have routes there so when the time comes to do them we have a route in place. You voted for them when you passed the development plan, we didn’t invent them.” He said that he did not agree with splitting up the proposed route as put forward by Cllr Weir. “Project splitting isn’t the best thing to do, you have 49 agencies to deal with,” he added. Mr McNulty told the members that one option available to them was to remove the objective of the road project from the development plan but said he did not think that was good planning. He went on to tell the members that if they wanted to make progress on the issue they would have to rescind the decision they made in February, putting a route forward to the council and then the project could be looked at again, but until they did that everything would stay as it is. The members agreed to put the rescinding of the decision on the agenda for the next meeting of the committee which will take place in November.
