Dale Road: design now completed
THE redesign of the Rathscannel R556 is now complete with Council engineers expecting to go to planning with it in a matter of weeks.
But the road is to remain closed for the foreseeable future apart from local access, despite the inconvenience caused to hundreds of motorists.
Cllr Aoife Thornton asked the Council to reassess the treacherous route following the recent completion of road inspection works undertaken there.
Since those works finished, more and more have simply been driving the route despite the signage indicating its closure.
Cllr Thornton welcomed news of the impending planning process this week, but warned again on the treachery of the route.
“It’s now even more dangerous than prior to the closure earlier this year with the work narrower in places following the works. I asked Council engineers to reassess the road on the basis that the works were now finished and that, as a result, there was no longer a deterrent to people driving the closed road,” Cllr Thornton said.
Many people are now simply driving clean through rather than taking the longer diversions west and east. But it’s a recipe for disaster and Cllr Thornton fears for the lives of motorists and residents, she said. “The Council is moving as quickly as possible to put together a planning application and they hope to initiate it in a matter of weeks.”
It’s a ‘part eight’ process requiring public consultation.
But Cllr Thornton has asked that the design come before the January meeting of the municipal councilin order to go for funding as early as possible and once and for all address the long-running Dale Road saga.