THERE has been a delay to the work on the long-awaited potentially life saving park-and-ride near Roslea, but hopes are high it will be finished in time for the new school year.
The new facility at Dernawilt Junction will provide a designated area for cars and buses to safely pick up and drop off school children and commuters.
There had long been calls for the facility, with deep concern in the area that a child could be seriously hurt or even lose their life at the junction, where pupils have to cross a busy 60mph road to the nearby shop for pick up by their parents.
Last November, those concerns were painfully realised after a child was left badly injured when they were struck by a car while getting off their school bus at the junction.
After been granted the green light by the Department for Infrastructure, work on the facility began earlier this year.
However, it is now facing a significant delay as the contractor “encountered worse ground conditions than anticipated on site with the result that more fill will be required.”
Cllr Sheamus Greene, who had helped lobby for the park-and-ride, explained this meant the workers had to leave the site before they can continue the remaining work, which will include adding kerbing and laying the final surface.
“They had to stop working on it for six or eight weeks to let the ground settle, before they can put more stone on it to get it finished,” Cllr Greene told the ‘Herald.
“It’s nothing major, but it has delayed it, which is unfortunate. I was hoping they might be able to have it up and going for September.”
He added, “At least it has been started, so it will be finished at some stage.
”If it wasn’t started and there were problems and delays, I would be more worried.”
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link… Subscribe to current edition