After years of heated debate, planning and political wrangling, work will finally commence this summer on improving safety measures at the most lethal accident blackspot in Killarney.
The turn-off from upper Lewis Road on to the Killarney bypass has been the scene of countless crashes, some of them fatal, over the years and repeated representations have been made at ministerial level and to top-ranking Transport Infrastructure Ireland officials.
The matter was raised again this week by Cllr Brendan Cronin who said the issue had been the subject of repeated requests over many years and he asked when will the long promised left only exit from Lewis Road be implemented.
Many of the collisions have been caused by vehicles having to cross two lines of traffic to turn right when exiting from Lewis Road.
“It has been asked for time and time again and there is pure frustration at this stage,” Cllr Cronin said.
“We have been promised and promised but this isn’t rocket science. The statistics and the evidence are there and this needs to be done,” he insisted.
Council officials said tender documents are currently being prepared to procure a contractor to carry out the work as the first of a number of safety improvements planned on the N22 at the Lewis Road and Kilcummin junctions.
The works to modify the Lewis Road junction to implement a left-out only option will be carried out in the third quarter of this year.
Cllr Cronin said he hopes the promise isn’t like a good 50 or 60 yard kick to touch in the game of rugby but he was told that assurances have been received that the job will be done.
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