Locals say road worse now than before works roadxx40improvements

BY JACKIE KEOGH

AN irate motorist claimed Cork County Council would want ‘a size eleven in the backside’ after the resurfacing of a sharp bend at Kilshinihan in Timoleague has allegedly turned it into

O’Donovan: raised issue

‘Does someone have to die here before the problem with the road is rectified?’ asked the motorist who estimated that there have been about 40 accidents on the bend since the council resurfaced the road last year.

At the first municipal district meeting of the New Year, Bandon-based Fine Gael Cllr James O’Donovan raised the issue and requested that the road be made safe.

This week he told The Southern Star: ‘I have been told that the road will be tested to see if the surface is at fault’ and added that he had received an undertaking that the test would be carried out ‘in the next week or so.’

Cllr O’Donovan, who uses the road regularly, described the stretch of R602-60 as ‘hazardous’ and said: ‘Locals fear the worst outcome if the problem is not addressed.

‘The Bandon to Timoleague road is a very busy route,’ he added, ‘with a lot of HGVs using it, coming from such companies as Barryroe Co-op and Stanton’s pig factory. At present, when two lorries meet, they have to come to a stop to make sure they don’t collide.

Cllr O’Donovan believes that the Council should – in the interest of public safety – put an anti-slip surface on the road, or take the corner out altogether and straighten the road.

Meanwhile, the motorist who claimed the road is now worse, said he had ‘spun out of control on the bend but didn’t crash’ and had personally witnessed 20 accidents on that stretch of road. ‘It’s when you are into the bend you lose the back of the car going around the corner,’ he explained.

‘It is a major cause of concern. Everyone in Timoleague, Courtmacsherry and Barryroe, who use this busy commuter route, is worried because of the frequent accidents on the bend directly after the Argideen Haven Bar,’ he added. ‘It’s too smooth. The surface is as smooth as the tarmac used in driveways and it is causing cars to spin out of control,’ he continued, suggesting that a resurfacing job would rectify the problem.

Since the road was resurfaced last year, it has been alleged that there have been up to 40 accidents on that stretch of road, and that a number of cars have been written off.

Although no one has been killed, local people are worried about getting injured, causing damage to their cars, or possibly driving into an accident on the bend.

The matter has been reported, not only to the Council but also the gardai. It is also understood that the gardai have even reported the dangerous condition of the bend to the Council.