Traffic management to affect north Louth regional road for four months

The contractor who is carrying out the Safe Routes to School works at Bellurgan on behalf of Louth County Council, has told local Sinn Féin representative, Councillor Antóin Watters, that there will be some form of traffic management in place over the next four months, while the works are ongoing.

The local community had been campaigning for several years for safety works on the road, due to the high speed of traffic and the lack of adequate traffic calming measures on the busy R173 at Bellurgan, the location of a local primary school, playschool, Bellurgan FC, and local shops, with Cllr Watters heavily involved in the campaigning.

The works which are expected to last between 16 and 20 weeks, are understood to include four raised pedestrian crossings with a push button crossing at the school, an extended speed limit, and three sets of speed cushions.

Sharing an update social media this week, Cllr Watters said that he has been informed that trees have been felled and site compound works complete, and that works are progressing with the installation of public lighting at the western end of the scheme, which is the Dundalk side of Bellurgan.

Cllr Watters said that traffic lights are currently in operation with proposed operational hours 08:30am– 17:00pm, but he  asked that the traffic queues at the lights are monitored and should the queues be excessive, to look at measures to relieve the traffic, suggesting options like stop/go lights, and flagmen.

Read also: Endometriosis awareness event to take place at Downtown Hub in Dundalk

The contractor confirmed with Cllr Watters that that a Stop/Go system will be in place to alleviate the traffic build up in the morning/evening and at school pick up and collection.

According to the Dundalk/Carlingford councillor, the contractor has also advised that there will be some form of traffic management in place over the next four months.