Funds cut for work on killer N11 bends

June 2008

The Government is taking back more than a quarter of the money allocated earlier this year to tackle the most dangerous stretch of road in County Wicklow.

Now motorists will be forced to continue to negotiate the notorious Balllinameesda bends for the foreseeable future, as Wicklow County Council seeks a way to make up the €1.6 million shortfall they are suddenly facing.

The Council was informed on Friday that the €1.6 million was being cut from the €6.15 million allocation announced in January for work on the bends, and the rest of the single-lane stretch between the Arklow and Rathnew bypasses, which has seen many fatal crashes and many more near misses over the years.

This week alone, four people were hospitalised on Monday after a multi-vehicle crash near Brittas Bay and in a separate incident a car overturned near Scratnagh Cross on Tuesday morning.

The Cutback means that improvements works on the dangerous stretch of road will have to be postponed indefinitely, in stark contrast to when the €6.15 million was announced just last

January, when it was stated that the project would be out to tender within just a few months.