CARNAGE AT BLACK SPOT
BALLYMAQUIRKE JUNCTION LISTED ONE OF CORK’S TOP 15 MOST ACCIDENT PRONE SPOTS IN COUNTY
A MAN in his mid 20s has been arrested in connection with a road collision at Ballymaquirke Cross which occurred between two articulated lorries.
The driver of one of the lorries is in a serious condition at Cork University Hospital. On Tuesday, the road at Ballymaquirke Cross which is near Kanturk, was closed for a number of hours while a Garda forensic technical examination was undertaken.
One of lorries involved in the collision had a tank containing 27,000 litres of milk, some of which spilled into the nearby River Blackwater. However, most of the milk contained within the crashed tanker was safely removed later.
It is understood that there is no evidence of fish kill and the spillage has had little impact on the river due to the high water levels at the time.
Ballymaquirke Cross has long been regarded as being a treacherous junction and it is listed by TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) as being one of Cork’s top 15 most accident prone sites.
While a design for a new roundabout at Ballymaquirke is currently being undertaken it has not yet been finalised. Cllr Gerard Murphy (FG) said that as soon as the design has been finalised it will then be assessed whether or not a CPO (Compulsive Purchase Order) is deemed necessary or not.
“A roundabout is urgently needed at Ballymaquirke and this has long been the view point of all councillors in the region. The need to make Ballymaquirke safe has been raised at a number of council meetings. This section of road sees a huge sway of traffic on a daily basis and especially at peak times during the morning and evenings,” Cllr Murphy told The Corkman.
“In fairness to the design engineers, they are working on the design of the roundabout to find a solution to this serious issue as they are well aware of how dangerous Ballymaquirke is. The important thing is that the design is done and as Ballymaquirke has long been regarded as being a highly dangerous junction, then there is not an issue with funding to put a solution in place.”
It is understood that the estimated cost of the entire works, including planning and developing and installing a roundabout, will be in the region of €1m to €1.5m.