by Annie Flynn
MOTORISTS are currently driving in fear due to the atrocious state of one of the north west’s busiest roads on the Donegal-Fermanagh border..
Recent maintenance works on the Lough Shore Road have come under intense criticism from residents in the south Donegal, Derrygonnelly and Belleek areas, with growing concern a serious or fatal accident is inevitable.
The road, a key commuter route linking Enniskillen, Ballyshannon and Donegal, carries hundreds of vehicles daily and is regularly used by school buses transporting up to 50 children.
Despite works intended to restore safety, locals say the condition of the road has worsened.
The stretch was fully closed on September 22 and again on October 17 under ‘New Works and Maintenance Schemes.’
The road was first realigned on a sharp bend, moving it away from the verge. However, no crash barriers were installed.
Additionally, while other sections of the road have been resurfaced, potholes remain and cracks have begun to appear along this stretch.
The cost of the works is believed to have exceeded £100,000.
Road user Paschal O’Shea said he has witnessed numerous vehicles leave the roadway, including cars flipping upside down.
While no serious injuries have yet been reported, he warned it is ‘only a matter of time.’
“This work did not come cheap. Hundreds of people use this road every day, and this is road tax money being spent,” he said.
“Who is responsible for this gross ineptitude, negligence and complete waste of precious road funding?
“Who is accountable?”
Mr O’Shea questioned whether the project had been properly surveyed and engineered, stating that the foundation of the road was fundamentally flawed.
“Walking along the verge, your feet sink into the soft aggregate. The road simply doesn’t have a suitable foundation,” he said.
“The mixture used might be suitable for a farm track, but not a main road. Only a matter of months before a lorry, or worse, the Dublin Express bus, goes off here.”
“Some weeks I saw as many as five cars go off. Even driving at 35 to 40 mph, I felt my own car slide. Many of those who went off were not speeding.”
