IT’S ONE of the busiest roads in the county, but like many of the county’s other main thoroughfares, there are persistent concerns about the condition of the Newbridge Road.
Local motorists have been worried about the safety of the road, which is the main route from Lisnaskea to Derrylin, for a long time, with a rough and uneven surface an unwanted addition to the narrow and winding road.
The road is a key link between two large towns in Fermanagh and also sees heavy traffic travelling to and from Share Discovery Village, Mannok and Encirc.
Cllr Garbhan McPhillips has highlighted the concern for this road but points out it is not the only road forgotten in Fermanagh.
“Yes there are real concerns regarding the condition of the Newbridge Road but this is not the only concerning road in the area,” he said.
“I would safely say that the vast majority of our roads are sub standard to say the least. In recent years there has been some work done on the Newbridge road but again only a section of it was completed at that time.”
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) over the years have completed small patch jobs on the road but no major resurfacing has taken place, “I do understand that this all comes down to budgets and funding. Until the budget for our roads is increased, the state/condition of our roads is not going to improve,” Garbhan added.
“In the past week another life was lost on our roads, the Newbridge Road in fact. I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Mark Johnston and my deepest condolences to his entire family at this extremely difficult time.
“I want to be very clear that I am not suggesting that the issues with the road had anything to do with Mark’s passing but we can all agree that the issues with the roads probably didn’t help.”
The ‘Herald contacted DfI with a number of queries, asking about its plans to improve the road and enquiring about how the public can report safety concerns about the road.
A DfI spokesman provided the following response, “The Department sends their condolences to the family and friends of the gentleman who lost his life in a road traffic collision in Lisnaskea.
“We will review any collision investigation reports from the PSNI which will inform any possible engineering work.”
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