Death road will be made safe

By TONY GALVIN A NOTORIOUS stretch of road outside Milltown where four young students lost their lives in a horrific crash and which has been the scene of numerous accidents in recent years, is to be realigned and made safer.A one-kilometre stretch between Milltown and Ballindine centred on Carrownurlar is to be built to replace the notorious bends, which have caused so much trouble for motorists over the years.However, when the plan was announced to members of Galway Co Council, a number of members asked if there was any point in building a new stretch of road which would run parallel to the planned M17 motorway, virtually along the same route.There were calls for it to be incorporated into the motorway but such a move could put the whole issue on hold for a decade or more as it is accepted that it will take at least that long for the Tuam to Claremorris stretch of the motorway to be back on the NRA's agenda.A campaign headed by local people to have this realignment carried out had been ongoing since the four girls were killed on a foggy night in November 2009.Sarah Byrne (20) from Headford; Maire Ní Chonghaile (19) from Baile na hAbhann, Connemara; Teresa Molloy (19) from Leitir Móir; Sorcha Rose McLaughlin (19) from Mulgannon, Co Wexford died as a result of a road traffic accident at Carrownurlar between Milltown. A fifth girl, the driver of the car which collided into an oncoming truck in inclement weather conditions, Michelle O'Donnell from Inis Móir, was very seriously injured.At an inquest held in Headford Courthouse last July the coroner found that the deaths occurred as a result of the car going out of control on a very bad bend and colliding into an on-coming truck.The coroner assured the parents of the four girls that their daughters had not suffered. The driver of the truck the car collided with told the inquest the car veered right across his path and he had no time to react.The parents of one of the girls took the opportunity at the inquest  to call on the National Roads Authority and Galway Co Council to carry out the works necessary to make the accident black spot where the girls died safe for other road users.The campaign was spearheaded locally by Carrownurlar resident Mary Hernon and local people have maintained a shrine to the memory of the four girls and kept the issue on the agenda. The proposal to postpone the Carrownurlar safety measure until it could be incorporated into the M17 motorway project was not considered a practical one by the engineer with responsibility for the project.Director of Services for Roads and Transportation, Frank Gilmore, warned that most major road projects planed for the coming four to five years were now effectively shelved. He still hoped the Gort-Tuam M18/17 motorway might go ahead. This project would involve the Tuam by-pass and in the longer-term the route would continue from Tuam to run northwards towards Claremorris and Sligo.He explained that the realignment of the section of the Milltown to Ballindine road had been planned separately and warned that efforts to combine the two projects could result in prolonged delays. He added that he hoped there would be a definite decision on the Gort-Tuam motorway within three to six months.