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A group of local residents and motorists have met with a representative of the Department for Infrastructure to discuss safety issues on a stretch of the A27 Tandragee Road, Newry, the main link road for Newry residents to Craigavon Hospital.
Issues brought up regarding the stretch from Goraghwood through Jerrettspass to Drumbanagher Wall included overhanging trees and vegetation, the necessity for better signage on the Jerrettspass railway bridge and the profusion of litter.
One of the organisers Neill McCourt has had two of his company vehicles damaged on the road since Christmas due to oncoming traffic in the middle of the road.
McCourt said "This is just a group of people from the area. Most of them are residents and a few of us, are road users that use this road frequently. We're highlighting the dangers of these overhanging branches and the resulting restricted sight-lines and the fact that vehicles especially high sided vehicles are all hugging the white line. Even on the straight part of the road, they're over the white lines, causing the oncoming traffic to have to veer into the verge. They're clipping their wing mirrors, clipping the sides of their lorries, and ripping their curtain siders.
"We just felt it needed to be addressed. Cutting back a metre or two metres into the verge is not going to cure this problem. It's a much bigger problem than a two metre overgrowth. You're talking in some parts of the road where there are trees over 25 foot in height, hanging dead this years, reaching onto the side of the road."
Explaining what they are hoping to do McCourt added "This is like a line in the sand where we start from. Now the process starts where we have to keep pushing and keep pressing and keep making our voices heard to get the relevant parties and politicians involved. Hopefully the Minister for Infrastructure can come down and see exactly how dangerous this is. It's not just one or two overhanging bushes it's a complete section of road which stretches for miles, which has been just left to overgrow. And there has been very, very bad accidents on this road of late and fatalities as well."
Local resident Peter McCamley believes the road has a serious issue with rubbish being dumped and not lifted. "There was a huge, big piece of plastic sitting in the hedge over there and I actually stopped and took it off the hedge, because if you're traveling along the road at the speed limit of 60mph and that piece of plastic hits your windscreen, what happens to the guy that you're meeting?"
"There is a serious issue here with rubbish and maybe that's a generational thing, I don't know. Years ago we used to have Keep Britain Tidy and where is that now? All we seem to get is rate increases and more rate increases. There seems to be a problem with budgets, there doesn't seem to be any problem with a £20m office for Newry and Mourne but there's not enough money to lift the rubbish."
McCamley believes it's a Newry, Mourne and Down District Council issue "We look at Banbridge District Council, and they have got teams working the whole way to Poyntzpass, lifting the rubbish."
He added "It's not up to individuals to go out themselves and lift this. This is why we're paying an extortionate, the highest amount of rates in Northern Ireland. Our Council charges us the most for doing this job. And you know what - They're not doing it!"
McCamley is concerned with lack of signage on the bridge at Jerrettspass where there have been fatal tragedies in the past. While signs point to the height of the bridge, there are no signs to indicate width or that two hgv's meeting would have trouble going through at the same time. "I'm very concerned about the lack of signage, especially for people that are not local, because we've already had several fatalities over at the bridge at the Tandragee Road, and to-date many, many years later, no signage is there to advise people who are not familiar with the area, that there's a width restriction that only one HGV can get through there at the time. We don't understand why there's a lack of signage."
Paul Murphy, Department for Infrastructure spoke to the group on their concerns adding "I have met with the local residents, and I have taken onboard all their concerns, and am passing them to the appropriate people. I'm going to try and achieve getting our sight-lines [trees currently blocking sight-lines]
He added "I'll have to get onto our traffic section to see if they can put road narrow signs up."
