Roadworks to be cleared ahead of busy Race Week traffic

ROADWORKS at the busy Parkmore Junction on the Tuam to Galway Road (N83) will be cleared for Race Week

Galway County Council engineers are planning to redesign the recently reconfigured junction following a series of collisions witnessed over the last month.

The most recent took place at the bottom of Parkmore Hill on Monday evening.

Fine Gael Cllr David Collins told The Tuam Herald that the engineers are seeking a meeting with the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to redesign the junction.

“The current design is not fit for purpose with four accidents taking place in just over a month,” remarked Cllr Collins. Cllr Collins had raised the design and safety concerns at a meeting of Athenry/Oranmore MDC two months ago, where he was informed by the council officials that the junction had been narrowed on purpose to slow down traffic.

The meeting heard how councillors had received multiple complaints from road users, especially HGV drivers, who had to cross over to the other lane to take a left turn at the junction.

The Parkmore Junction is one of the main access points for people going to Galway Racecourse in Ballybrit.

“The engineers have made a commitment that the junction will be cleared for racegoers before Monday,” said Cllr Collins. “The works will not be completely finished but it will be brought up to a standard and the cones and barricades will be gone,” he explained.

Along with the junction the roadworks on N83 between Claregalway and Parkmore are also expected to be completed before the start of the popular summer festival.