At a meeting of the Northern Division of Cork County Council on Monday, Cllr Noel O’Connor, Mayor of the County of Cork raised the matter of the damaged two by one Retrofit barriers on the Mallow to Cork road. Cllr O Connor called on the NRA to immediately repair the six damaged sections of the what is called the Retro Fit Barrier System.

Cllr O’Connor went on to say that there are six places, along a section of the Cork to Mallow road, between Grenagh and Mourneabbey, where cars have crashed into the barrier over a quite a long period of time.

“The steel wire and the low sized poles have been damaged at the places where these accidents happened. The problem is that they have not been repaired.”

He went on to point out that at present, these damaged barriers present a very high risk to traffic users.

“In fact, in one or two of these places, the poles are bent down facing directly towards on coming traffic presenting a huge hazard and making the road seriously dangerous rather than doing the job which this barrier was set up to do and make travel safer here.”

The County Mayor pointed out that when this (Retrofit)system was proposed, there were serious objectors from the motor cycle fraternity who claimed it to be most dangerous for motor cyclists.

“Whether because of the motor cyclists arguments or because of serious accidents this two by one retrofit system is no longer in use by the NRA nationally. But this is all the more reason that when this type of barrier is damaged that it should be repaired immediately.

“We were told at the council meeting that the NRA have passed on responsibility (or contracted out the work of repairing this barrier system) to a company called Lagan Egis. The Council Engineering Staff have established that the repair work on this two by one retro system is to be carried out in the next few weeks. I do hope this happens.”

The Mayor said the excuse for not repairing this damaged barrier, before now, was that Lagan Egis ‘failed to secure replacement poles for the barrier’.

“If this is the case then I do believe that the NRA should consider scrapping this barrier system altogether and putting in an alternative safer system in the interest of motorists, truck and bus drivers, and motor-cyclists safety.”