‘Something drastic is going to happen on that road if something is not done by the Donegal Council’.
That is the view of concerned Anagaire resident Mary Ferry following the deterioration of the Glen Road in the west Donegal parish.
The road, which is in a desperate state of disrepair, has a severe subsidence that is causing homeowners concern that a major accident could take place on the road in the near future.
It is understood that work to fix the subsidence on the road is due to begin in September with up to €15,000 already secured for the project.
However, west Donegal Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig has said more needs to be done to ensure the road is safe for road users in the short term.
He told Donegal Daily: “There has been a small amount of money secured by Donegal County Council and I don’t believe that it is adequate enough for the work that needs to be done on that road.
“In the parish, there is a huge concern about that particular road,” he added. “There is large parts of that road without any boundary to support road users or pedestrians and residents are not happy with its current state.
“I have walked that road with the local engineer and John McLaughlin (Director of Roads and Transportation for Donegal County Council) and it’s now time that the council take appropriate action before someone is seriously hurt.”
Councillor Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig and Anagaire resident Mary Ferry
Mary Ferry, who lives within walking distance to the road, said it is a ‘disaster waiting to happen’.
She said: “The sides of the road are giving away and we have been on to the council about this road for the last couple of years and not enough has been done.
“With winter coming now, the road is extremely dangerous. You wouldn’t be fit to walk on the road because it is far too narrow in its current state.
“There is a lot of traffic on the road as well and if you are a cyclist or a driver, you would have to pull in because no two cars could pass each other at the same time.
“I am living near the bridge here beside the Glen Road and that is also giving way on the right-hand side.
“The area is extremely dangerous and I don’t know how many times we have had near misses.
“There are large parts of it that are completely cracked at this point. There is nothing holding it together only muck.
“There is terrible traffic on the road, it is one of the main roads to the (Donegal) airport, local shops, hairdressers and hotels.
“And with tourists coming into the area around the summertime they are unaware of the roads current state and they intend to stay out a little bit.
“And only recently, there was an accident involving a van and car,” Ferry explained.
“The van was coming down the road and the lady in the car went to pull in to let the van past and her wheel went off the road as part of it gave way. It’s really horrendous.
“The council are going on about tourism. I am not sure how you are going to get safe tourism into the area if the road is looking like that.
“I was fit to walk down that road to Anagaire with my grandchildren three years ago, but I am not longer able to do that,” she added.
“Everything is just a mess and we had the engineers out and they were supposed to do something about it.
“And no other councillor, as far as I am aware, apart from Michael Cholm approached me about it.
“It is not fair, I can’t walk down that road to get the local shops or anything because the danger is too great.
“It has to be piped because every time there is heavy rain the place is flooding and the road is cracking at the same time.
“When the council come to observe it, they don’t even walk on the road, they sit in the car from a distance.
“That is no good, they need to walk on the road to understand the danger that people living here face on a daily basis.
“If they saw a lorry coming towards them while they were walking, they wouldn’t be long in understanding that.”
The Donegal County Council are set to start work on the Glen Road in September but Cllr Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig insists more funding is needed.
The Donegal County Council told Donegal Daily in response that a section of the Glen Road is ‘regularly monitored to ensure the safety of the road users’.
The Donegal authority also said: “Works are planned for September. Should the section deteriorate Works will be scheduled at an earlier date. An inspection is planned for later this afternoon (Friday 16th).”
But Cllr MacGiolla Easbuig said it council needed to act before it is too late. He said: “There is no doubt whatsoever (that an accident is going to occur).
“The road is quite narrow as it is and ideally the road needs to be widened completely because it is used as one of the main arteries for a host of local businesses and the airport.”
