Donegal County Council has been asked to carry out urgent repair works on a dangerous bridge on the R250 Glenties to Letterkenny road.
Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly warned the council that the bridge at Mc Fadden’s Bottling store Breenagh is in a dangerous state of repair, putting motorists at risk.
The bridge is on the main artery from Letterkenny to Ardara, Glenties and Dungloe.
Cllr Kelly told the council that the bridge has seen numerous near-misses and accidents. “The parapet is completely broken off this bridge,” he told the January meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford MD.
The exposed bridge on the R250 at Mc Fadden’s Bottling
store Breenagh. Photo: Donal Kelly
The bridge currently has barriers protecting on each side, but Cllr Kelly said that a permanent fix is paramount, given the volume of traffic passing each day.
He acknowledged the work of the council in placing signs in the area, but pointed out that a recent accident before Christmas actually occurred after the signage was installed.
“A lot of this road needs reinvestment, bridge realignment works and parapet work. We have to seek as much money as possible,” Cllr Kelly said.
“If it’s not addressed, I think that the only alternative is to put traffic lights here to reduce it to one lane.
“I would ask we secure funding as soon as possible, or go ahead with the works and seek the funding after.”
In response, the council said that the bridge has been inspected by the Bridge Engineer who is preparing an assessment report.
“When details of the required works are known funding will be sought,” the council said.
