Residents of Upper Galliagh Road are fuming over plans to close the route. It has been announced that the road will be closed from next Monday until February 15 to allow works "associated" with the Skeoge Link.
Residents are up in arms that they will be forced to use a diversion adding around 20 minutes to their car journey. Concerns have been raised about safety and inconvenience as well as the fact that no apparent move has been made to begin the construc
tion of a proposed alternative access road.
SDLP Assemblyman Pat Ramsey is to meet with Roads Service officials today to discuss the concerns.
Pensioner Damien McDaid, a Glenabbey Cottages resident who does not drive, told the ‘Journal’ yesterday that he would be “cut off”. “Now I’ll have to walk three miles to get the next nearest bus stop to go to the shop or the doctor,” he said.
Mother-of-three schoolchildren, Jacqueline Cartin, said: “It normally takes just three or four minutes to get the children to the bus stop in the morning, now it will take 20 minutes. They say it’s only for six weeks but the road hasn’t even been started.”
Mr. Ramsey said there had been been "a clear lack of public consultation" over the closure.
“In all essence this is a permanent road closure clearly - as the road it will be abandoned while the alternative route is being constructed. The bottom line is that the new access road should have been in place before any closure of the Upper Galliagh Road.”
The full article contains 268 words and appears in Journal Friday DER Edition newspaper.
