Signage needed at East Galway blackspot
The provision of additional signage at a location in East Galway could reduce the amount of traffic passing through one of the most dangerous junctions in the county.
So says the Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr Michael Connolly, who has now approached engineers with a view to providing additional signage that would divert motorists down an alternative route.
The junction at Nutfield Cross, along the Ballinasloe to Kilconnell road, has been the scene of two fatalities in recent years – along with countless serious accidents.
Cllr Connolly is particularly referring to the road from Ahascragh village to Killure where there is a small and very difficult to see sign pointing in the direction of Ballinasloe.
Many motorists unfamiliar with the road often do not notice the sign and continue straight on to Nutfield Cross where several serious accidents have occurred in the recent and not so recent past.
He is now asking that a large sign pointing in the direction of Ballinasloe be erected at Killure beside the church as he believes that it would take a lot of traffic away from Nutfield Cross.
The junction at Nutfield Cross claimed the life of a motorist back in 2014 while another motorist was involved in a fatal accident over the past couple of years.
The junction is located on the road between Ballinasloe and Kilconnell and it seems that a stop sign on one side is obscured because of overgrown shrubbery. There have been sustained calls for a staggered junction to be provided.
It was announced a couple of years ago, prior to the General Election, that €70,000 had been earmarked for improvements to be carried out but this funding has still not been made available.
Councillors in the Ballinasloe Municipal District met with senior officials of Galway County Council in recent weeks to express their concerns over the safety at the junction. They were informed that a scheme would be carried out to make it safer.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.