Mayo councillors demand urgent action on N17 upgrade

COUNCILLORS in east Mayo are kicking up a fuss about the condition of the N17 and its upgrade.

The route between Knock and on to Collooney was earmarked for a motorway, but that was pulled by former Minister Eamon Ryan.

But with the condition of the road today, action is needed urgently to upgrade the route.

The matter was raised at a municipal district meeting by Councillor Neil Cruise who, while driving to Donegal, highlighted the shocking statistic he read on signage outside Charlestown: '25 deaths over the next 27 kilometres'.

Were they going to have to start putting crosses up on the side of the road again before action is taken, he asked.

“We need to start creating a fuss about it,” he urged his elected colleagues, as something urgently needs to be done.

Councillor Gerry Murray said the project was chopped in half, tapering off at Charlestown. And when going to tender for the Collooney to Curry section, a new route should be selected from there on to Knock and Claremorris, he said.

As an almost daily user of the route, Councillor Adrian Forkan said in the last year he had sent 30 whatsapp messages to his employer to say he would be late for work due to crashes on the road. “And I don't see them all,” he commented.

He described the road as lethal and something has to be done.

* Funded under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme