A Donegal County Councillor has warned that there could be a fatal accident if repairs are not carried out on the Meenaroy Bridge.
The bridge, which lies on the road from Fintown to Letterkenny, is in serious disrepair.
Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly said the issue has gone on so long that he now calls the Meenaroy Road ‘The Forgotten Road’.
“There are two bridges on his road. One at the bottom has seen several accidents throughout the years. There was another accident as recently as Tuesday. Luckily nobody was seriously injured,” he said.
The drop from the heavily worn Meenaroy Bridge
Cllr Kelly had two motions into Donegal County Council this year seeking urgent funding for upgrade works at the bridge. The works are on the county’s priority list, but the council says no funding is available.
“This bridge is ready to collapse,” Cllr Kelly warned.
“The main bridge has a 20ft drop down from the road and there are numerous times that vehicles went off this road into the fields.
“I want the council to secure funding for this as a matter of urgency, to fix these bridges and make them safe.
“We are all aware this is the main artery into Letterkenny from Dungloe and Ardara, the volume of traffic is serious.
“The council still hasn’t secured funding but I want to put the pressure on to see it happen.
“This bridge is getting worse all the time. If it collapses there’s going to be a fatal accident.”
Donegal County Council applied for funding to the Department of Transport in September 2020 for the widening and realignment of Meenaroy Bridge. One year later, there has been no update on funding provision.
