An axle came off a trailer at the level crossing in Clonminam Estate in Portlaoise recently due to the condition of the surface which was described as “absolutely lethal” at the Portlaoise Municipal District meeting this week.
Cllr Willie Aird asked for an update on the situation at the meeting.
Engineer Wes Wilkinson said he had met with CIE and proposed work on the crossing at Clonminam is going to tender.
The plan is to make the rise to the tracks more gradual and also the surface more resilient.
He said he will be meeting with the CIE solicitor to make progress on the footpath and hopes it will be joined up.
At present the footpath is blocked by a railway safety gate and people walking through Clonminam have to step out on to the road to get past the gate.
“It is very regrettable,” Cllr Aird said, “that we have to go crawling to CIE to get them to do something for us”.
“From a civic point of view, they should do something themselves,” he said. “There is absolutely no comeback from them,” he said.
“It is mind-boggling from a safety point of view that they wouldn’t do anything about it,” he said.
Accidents
He said the crossing is so bad that the council had to fill it, “because it is so prone to accidents”.
“It wouldn’t be tolerated by anyone else,” he said.
“Somebody, somewhere is going to have to crack the whip. Everybody is talking about this. It is absolutely lethal.
He said it was particularly important as traffic going to the west of Ireland is diverted this way.
The issue has been raised on a number of occasions by elected representatives. It was also highlighted when a representative of Irish Rail attended a meeting of Laois County Council in recent months.
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