This article is from page 16 of the 2006-11-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE planned construction of a second entrance into Gort from the proposed Gort/Crusheen bypass has, once again, been thrown into doubt this week as Galway County Council has stated that it does not believe the second junction is necessary.
Following a lengthy campaign by the Gort Regional Alliance for Community and the Environment (GRACE), the National Roads Authority (NRA) had agreed to build and fund the second junction earlier this month.
However, this latest revelation has cast doubt on that commitment as the local authority looks unlikely to upgrade the supporting roads.
In a statement received by The Clare People , a GRACE spokesperson commented that they had been “delighted” to learn that the NRA approved the second junction and they “thought it would be only a matter of course that the county council would be willing to upgrade a local road”.
However, according to GRACE, the road section of the county council does not accept that Gort needs a second entrance, despite all the figures which suggest the contrary, and despite the NRA’s acceptence of those figures.
The key road which needs to be upgraded is the Gort to Tubber road and this was not included on the list for the EU Co-Financed Specific Improvements Grant Scheme sent up by Galway County Council to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The current argument centres around different interpretations of the current and projected populations for Gort.
The Chief Executive of the NRA, Fred Barry, informed GRACE that Gort has the “potential to increase in population significantly” from its current level of some 3,000 people, which is already well in advance of the 1,500 to 2,000 people required to automatically be entitled to a second entrance.
However, the local authority has refused to recognise these projections.