Durrow residents vow to "fight on" for road upgrade

Durrow residents who demanded urgent answers from the Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, this week on government plans to address long-standing safety issues on the busy N52 have vowed to continue their campaign to have a new link road built between Tullamore and Kilbeggan.

“We are determined to fight on,” said a defiant Charlie Kelleher, chair of Durrow Community Development Committee, who organised a protest during a visit by the Transport Minister to the Sacred Heart School in Tullamore on Monday morning.

While Minister Ryan listened to the concerns of up to 40 residents from Durrow, who brandished placards bearing messages such as 'Link road now' and 'We take our lives into our hands every day on the N52' he was unable to give any commitment that funding would be reinstated to advance the long-awaited link road project to the next phase.

Minister Ryan, who was flanked by local Green Party Minister Pippa Hackett, said he would “take another look at the link road project,” said Charlie Kelleher, “but overall he told us that he couldn't make any promises.”

Funding has been provided by the Department of Transport to address safety issues on the N52 at Durrow, but Charlie Kelleher said the local community very firmly feels that they will “not go far enough” and that a link road is the “only long-term solution”.

Describing the N52 at Durrow as “a deathtrap” Charlie Kelleher said local families are “taking their life in their hands” every time they set out on a journey to bring their children to and from the local school, community hall or GAA pitch. “We have a situation where the school bus is regularly held up for more than 20 minutes at the busy high road junction and that causes unnecessary worry and stress for parents and teachers and for the children themselves who are often late for school,” said Mr Kelleher.

He added that the local community are “angry and fearful” that it will take a fatal collision for action to be taken, and said it is “the luck of God” that there have not been more accidents. “We have near misses almost every day,” he pointed out.

With the speed limit on the N52 at Durrow set to be reduced from 100kph to 80kph, Charlie Kelleher does not feel this will allay the concerns of local people.

“Apart from the many families whose lives are impacted on a daily basis, the safety issues on the N52 are also affecting local farmers, businesses and the development of the Durrow High Cross monastic site as a tourist destination.”

Plans for a link road between Tullamore and Kilbeggan were first drawn up over a decade ago, with a proposal for an 8.1km route running from the Tullamore bypass to Kilbeggan which would incorporate some 3.3km of the existing stretch of the N52.

The long-awaiting project has been prioritised by both Offaly and Westmeath County Councils in order to improve connectivity and safety on the route, which has traffic volumes of up to 15,000 vehicles per day.

For the past three years, no funding has been advanced for the link road project by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) who have overall responsibility for the maintenance and upgrade of the N52.

“Even if funding was reinistated for the link road, it could be another six years before it would be completed,” said Charlie Kelleher, “but at least we would feel something was happening if we could advance it to the next stage, instead of the stalemate situation that we have now.”