This article is from page 23 of the 2014-04-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 23 JPG
THE National Roads Authority (NRA) will continue to monitor a stretch of the M-18 which they closed to all drivers for a week last month, in an unprecedented move.
The northbound stretch of the motorway between Barefield and Crusheen was closed to allow repairs to take place between March 10 and March 14.
The main focus of the repair work was focussed on a patch of the mo- torway an overpass between Junction 14 and Junction 15.
A spokesperson from the NRA said yesterday that the repair effort had required “additional resources” but the roads authority is happy with the work which was carried out.
“There was cleaning out of culverts and maintenance of road drainage system and yes there was some areas worse than others, so it took additional resources but currently the road appears to draining well and we are monitoring it,” said a spokesperson from the NRA.
The work, which was described by the NRA as “drainage assessment and improvement works”, follows months of pressure from Clare County Council, Clare gardaí and the local media, following a spate of accidents on the road over the Christmas period.
The NRA had previously rejected calls for a safety audit to be conducted and speed restriction to be introduced but had a change of heart in early March, confirming that a safety “engineering assessment” would take place in the com- ing months.
The NRA assumed responsibility for maintenance on the M18 between June and September of 2013.
A number of questions have been raised about the safety of sections of the M-18 between Ennis and Gort since it was opened in November of 2010.
A number of local people stopped using the motorway in the wake of a spate of accidents over the Christmas period, instead using the old N18 route between Ennis and Gort.