Cork County Council was asked to review the causes of ongoing accidents on what’s considered to be a dangerous bend on the N72 at Castlehyde, Fermoy at the recent monthly meeting of the Fermoy electoral area committee of the county council.

The motion, tabled by Cllr Frank O’Flynn called for the review in the interests of safety of the local residents and road users.

Senior county council engineer Brendan O’Gorman said the cause of accidents, in the main, is due to a combination of poor horizontal alignment, driver error and, to a lesser extent, road surface conditions.

The bend is highlighted very well with large advance signage, chevrons, road lining, delineations and studs on all approaches, he explained. Cllr O’Flynn said a barrier was needed as there had been a number of crashes there and Cllr Noel McCarthy seconded his motion. The engineer agreed that ultimately, safety barriers are the solution for residents there,but, he said, the NRA did not approve them for funding in 2013. He has asked them to re-look at the request for barriers outside the boundary wall.

In the meantime, he said, the situation has improved there due to the drainage works carried out in the viciinty late last year by the Roads Operations office in an attempt to stop ice from forming on that section of the road. Two accidents were reported there in the past 12 months, he told members.