This article is from page 10 of the 2013-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
CLARE County Council is to seek compensation from the source of the massive oil spill on the N18 on Friday evening, resulting in commuters and motorists sitting in traffic for up to six hours.
When the local authority workers attended the scene of the spill on the northbound side of the dual carriageway between Setright’s Cross and Sixmilebridge late in the afternoon, they sprayed it with “road bio” to neutralise the spillage.
“It did not work on this occasion; for whatever reason, the oil seemed more potent,” explained County Engineer Tom Tiernan.
The council workers then doubled the concentration of the neutralising bio, but this still did not work.
“We decided it was not safe at around 6pm or 6.30pm and closed the road,” explained the county’s most senior engineer.
The fire service and council workers from the Shannon area continued to work on what is considered “one of the busiest sections of road in the west” until 11pm when one lane of the dual carriageway was reopened.
They returned to the scene on Saturday morning and continued working until both lanes were considered safe for road users again.
The cost of the clean-up is believed to have cost the council thousands of euro, and it will be seeking recompense.
On Friday night, detours through Sixmilebridge were described as a “fiasco” by motorists, with others critical of the lack of early information on the traffic delay.
One mother of two from Ennis told The Clare People how she was forced to sit in traffic for three hours with her two children during a journey home from Dublin.
“When I looked back on it afterwards, I couldn’t believe that they took our money at the toll and said absolutely nothing as they let us onto the packed motorway,” she said.
“If we had been warned, we could have diverted via Killaloe, as could many others, I’m sure, easing the congestion somewhat.”
The Waterford Crystal hurling semi final in Sixmilebridge on Friday night between Clare and Cork was delayed by 50 minutes as a result of the oil spill.
Some of the Cork team took five hours to reach the venue, nine of their players being trapped in static traffic on the N18 motorway.