Problems on N58 in Mayo 'getting worse'

THE N58 road needs to come back on the agenda.

Problems with the route, which is a vital link between Ballina and Castlebar, are only getting worse, says Foxford Councillor Neil Cruise.

There was some good news on the roads front in his area for the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council. The preferred corridor for the N26 Mount Falcon to Foxford road project is expected in Q1 of 2026, with the consultant appointed and currently at phase 2 options selection.

But moving on to the N58 was a different story, and travelling that route every day, its problems are getting worse every day, said Councillor Cruise. The N58/N5 junction is a death trap and it's bunged up with traffic every evening.

People don't seem to comprehend the importance of the N58 without County Mayo, he continued, and it has to go back on the agenda.

Surveys done between 2014 and 2019 showed 65% of the traffic leaving Ballina was turning right into Foxford and comes up the N58, and there's bigger numbers now.

It's not fit for purpose and a new N58 is needed, ‘not now but 20 years ago’.