€2m project to improve safety at one of Wexford’s most notorious junctions

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Safety works at one of Wexford’s most notorious junctions are set to commence by the end of 2026 with completion expected in Q3 of 2027.

Costing €1.8m, the works will see what’s described as a “rural traffic scheme” installed at Larkin’s Cross on the N25, an area which has been the scene of number of collisions over the past 20 years including several fatal incidents.

The works, which will result in a layout similar to that in nearby Barntown, will see the installation of traffic-calming islands with chamfered (symmetrical) and road edge kerbs, the reduction of traffic lanes to 3.25m, off-road one-way cycle/pedestrian facilities, new lighting, and the widening of the N25/R738 junction (to Taghmon), were unveiled at the July meeting of the Wexford Borough.

Senior executive engineer Ms Eilis Furlong presented the scheme to councillors and began by documenting the 15 collisions recorded at Larkin’s Cross between 2016-23. Accepting that there were collisions prior to 2016 and since 2023, Ms Furlong said that, of those 15, one had resulted in a fatality, two in serious injuries, and three in minor injuries.

The R738 road from Larkin's Cross to Taghmon. © Jim Campbell

All of those incidents were investigated prior to the design of the new layout at Larkin’s Cross, and the information gathered was subsequently used to inform that design process.

With an average of 13,000 vehicles passing through Larkin’s Cross every day Ms Furlong said speeding wasn’t necessarily the biggest issue at the junction. Most of the problems were a result of the “number of decisions” motorists have to make when approaching Larkin’s Cross.

Some of those decisions resulted in “unsafe driving practises”, including the use of hatched areas (centre of road with stripes or chevrons) to overtake.

“This is a real concern,” said Ms Furlong, “our data found that a number of collisions occurred when people were looking to either enter the regional road or exit it. And when someone is overtaking in the hatched area the visibility of the driver coming out of the regional road is minimal.”

While the scheme was broadly welcomed by councillors, there were some queries around how to make it even safer and less prone to accidents. Given its proximity to Barntown, Cllr Robbie Staples asked whether the Larkin’s Cross safety scheme could be extended to connect to the neighbouring village.

“You hit Barntown and drop to 60km/h and then go past it and the speed limit goes up to 100km/h before you hit this scheme and go down again,” he noted.

However, Ms Furlong revealed that the speed limit at Larkin’s Cross will not be reduced as part of these works, citing a similar scheme in Co Waterford as an example of how an area can be made safer without changing the limit.

“The speed limit is going to stay at 100km/h, it won’t be reduced, it’s very difficult to get people to slow down on sections of roads in a rural setting,” she said as she explained how Carroll’s Cross in Waterford had been upgraded in a similar fashion and seen a rapid decrease in accidents as a result.

Mayor of Wexford, Councillor Vicky Barron said she travels through Larkin’s Cross up to ten times a day and she already foresaw one of the big questions the public will have once the plans are put out for consultation.

“A lot of people will want to know why we’re not putting a roundabout in there,” she said.

Ms Furlong said a roundabout had been “considered” during the feasibility study but, having seen the success of Carroll’s Cross, the design team decided to follow Waterford’s lead.

Lastly, having confirmed that funding of €1.8m had been requested for the project, Director of Roads Eamonn Hore said the scheme had been designed to curb the excesses of those who didn’t adhere to the rules of the road.

“The sight lines at the junction are perfect - the issue is driver behaviour. If people obeyed the rules there wouldn’t be any problems.”