New bridge opens up east Mayo greenway option

SWINFORD and Foxford should be connected by a new greenway now that the new Cloongullane bridge is set to open.

The walk/cycle track would be a 'massive addition' to the area, said Councillor Neil Cruise, who proposed the project at the monthly Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District meeting held in Swinford Cultural Centre.

Councillor Cruise spoke of his delight at crossing the new bridge, which has eliminated a major accident black spot.

Reflecting on the history of the project, he said a decision was made back in 2015 to remove Cloongullane from the N5/N26/N83 'bundle' so it could be prioritised, with just one new crossing of the Moy allowed.

Seven years later it had been great to cross the bridge, which has been open a few times in the past few weeks.

Councillor Cruise said he now wanted to see funding for another capital project in the area and suggested a cycling/walking track between Foxford and Swinford, which would use a lot of existing infrastructure and could be put in place at little cost.

They were told there was a deficit of capital projects in the area and this would be a major addition, he commented.