Serious crash fears on Sligo road if improvements aren’t made – ‘There are lorries going off the road’

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The R293, which passes through Ballymote and Gurteen was the subject of heated discussion at the September meeting of the Ballymote-Tubbercurry Municipal District with Cllr Paul Taylor hitting out at the “terrible condition” of the road.

In a motion before the meeting Cllr Taylor called on Sligo County Council to provide an update on the funding position for upgrades to the R293.

"There are five or six parts of it you wouldn’t even travel at 60kmh. They need attention straight away,” said Cllr Taylor.

"If there are certain things that are dangerous we surely have a few pound in our own account to do certain stuff. As councillors we did what we had to do to make sure there is a few pound there for things to be kept afloat. There are people contacting me every day about this road and I am telling them we are looking for funding. There are accidents, there are lorries going off the road. There is going to be a serious accident.”

The motion received widespread backing from other councillors with Cllr Michael Clarke remarking that he “broke a spring on that road.”

Cllr Taylor's motion received a reply from Jim Molloy, Director of Service Climate and Infrastructure, stating: “An application for funding was submitted to the Department of Transport in 2024 to carry out works along the R293. The Department of Transport did not provide the requested funds. A further application for funding will be submitted in Q4 of 2025. It is hoped that the Department of Transport will provide the requested funds.”