Calls to repair 'tricky' Limerick bridge which has been struck twice

THE WALL of a bridge on a busy road in the county has been hit twice and never repaired, according to Independent councillor John O’Donoghue. 

Now, the councillor wants the gaping hole repaired and better signage to warn motorists about the tricky,  S-shaped bridge at Glenogra. 

The bridge is located on the Meanus to Fedamore Road and is a very busy road, Cllr O’Donoghue explained, and used by a lot of people going to and from Limerick.

He described it as an S-shape, with a long, stone wall, saying “you would be on top of the bridge before you would see it.” 

A vehicle hit and damaged the bridge some years ago, he continued, and a second accident occurred at the same spot just days after Christmas.  “The accident was never reported,” Cllr O’Donoghue said.

But despite the two incidents, the gap in the wall has never been repaired. Now, he has been told it was on the council’s list of bridges to be rehabilitated but was “not an immediate”  issue from the point of view of road safety. 

However, Cllr O’Donoghue said that animals could stray on to the road through the gap and either people or animals could use the gap to wander onto the adjacent farmer’s land. 

“The bridge is a protected structure,” he pointed out. “The farmer can’t touch it.”

Cllr O’Donoghue has called for the bridge to be repaired, the damaged signage reinstated and new advance signage put in place.

He believes flashing chevrons are needed to warn motorists, given the nature of the bridge.