Safety works on dangerous Wexford bend begin but full review required to eliminate frequent accidents

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Safety works on the notorious Leeches Bend in Clonroche, Co Wexford have finally begun following a number of serious accidents and near-misses. At the October meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC) Councillor John Fleming expressed his delight that works had finally begun but said the entire village required a safety review to eradicate the number of accidents occurring on a regular basis.

“I’m delighted the works on Leeches Bend have started, but Clonroche as a village, especially with it being on a national road, is constantly having close-run things, we’re getting phone calls about it all the time. A traffic review of the village is required,” he said.

Asking that the council now turn its attention to the bend at Des Kehoe’s a couple of hundred yards up the road, Cllr Fleming said motorists continued to fall foul of this section of the N30 despite the number of signs warning them of what lies ahead.

In response, director of services Eamonn Hore said a traffic review for the village had been completed but funding, "possibly from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)”, would be required to complete the works.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Fleming thanked Mr Hore and senior engineer David Murphy for their efforts in making Clonroche safer.

“The volume of traffic on this road has increased hugely in the last couple of years,” he said. “The speed limit was reduced to 80km an hour recently and there is a speed van up the road so hopefully all these actions will help make the road safer and end this black spot for good.”