‘Lessons to be learned’ after closure of busy Tipperary road sparks criticism
Questions have been raised over the decision to fully close a busy Tipperary road for resurfacing works after locals claimed the work could have been completed without shutting the route.
At the July meeting of the Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District, Fine Gael councillor Mark Fitzgerald asked questions about the decision to fully close the N76 road at Glenbower for resurfacing works.
The road was due to be closed from July 13 to 31 from 7am until 8pm each day to facilitate the resurfacing of the road.
“It’s a great job they did on that road, but they had the road closed fully, and from talking to locals in the area, they could have done the works without having a full road closure,” Cllr Fitzgerald said.
“The way it discommoded travelers every day, people didn’t really know what to do, there was signposted diversions but people were making their own way. It was adding excess traffic to small villages and towns.
“There’s someone who works with me in Clonmel who said that some of the mornings, she just chanced her arm driving the road and she got through it no bother,” Cllr Fitzgerald added.
The Fine Gael councillor called on Tipperary County Council to talk to the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to see if full road closures are needed.
In response, district engineer Michael Scully said that there were lessons to be learned from the road closure.
“There was issues with the way the traffic management was implimented and the way the signage was run, and I think there’s lessons to be learned on that,” he said.
“I’m not involved in the operational decisions of road closures and why it was done, but going forward, we will have to look and see what the best solutions are to keep the road open.
“It’s a busy road, it’s a fast road, so I assume there’s health and safety concerns for the men working on the road and that plays into it, but there are discussions that can be had the next time about what level of traffic management or whether roads can be kept open or not,” Mr Scully said.
Mr Scully added that there had been a breakdown within the traffic management company responsible for the works and said the issue would have to be addressed before similar projects in future.