Westport councillors have called on the local authority to install a barrier at a footpath underneath a narrow bridge that has been constructed as part of the new N5 project.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Brendan Mulroy raised the matter at last week’s meeting of Westport-Belmullet Municipal District when he expressed the view that the underpass to the new bridge on the Lodge Road is a danger to pedestrians walking on the footpath. The new bridge has been constructed as part of the €220m Turlough to Westport N5 road project.

The underpass on the Lodge Road in Westport.

It is a six-metre (three metres per lane) entrance with a two-metre footpath on one side and less than a metre on the other side.

Cllr Mulroy says that many heavy goods vehicles travel this route and that two would not be able to pass through the bridge side-by-side and if they overhang, it will cause a danger to pedestrians. He asked whether a barrier could be erected to protect pedestrians.

Senior engineer with Mayo County Council’s National Roads Designs Office, Paul Hyland, said the underpass was designed in accordance with the latest policy and the council is satisfied with the width of the carriageway.

“For example, the road between Westport and Mulranny is six metres wide and in a 100km/h zone, and this is going to be driven at 50km/h. So, we believe that the carriageway is the correct one for an urban environment,” Mr Hyland said. “A road safety audit will have to be carried out on it, so I will raise the issue of a barrier segregating the pedestrians from the traffic.”

Cllr John O’Malley, who also raised the issue at a Roads and Transportation Strategic Policy meeting earlier that day, said it was wrong to compare the Westport to Mulranny road and the Lodge Road because a lorry driver cannot overhang on the hard shoulder on the latter. He also urged that allowances be made for extra space on the Lodge Road underpass.