Athlone-Ballinasloe M6 closure postponed until Spring

The controversial closure of the westbound carriageway on the M6 motorway between Athlone and Ballinasloe, which was due to start on Monday, has now been postponed until the spring. Local traders had strongly criticised the pre-Christmas closure of the road to facilitate drainage improvements on its surface. And it's understood that, following discussions between Roscommon County Council and the National Roads Authority, it has now been agreed to delay the work until after the winter. The posponment was welcomed by Athlone councillor Kevin 'Boxer' Moran. "I think this is wonderful news for traders throughout Athlone because the closure would have had a huge impact, particularly in the lead up to Christmas," said Cllr Moran. "This work still needs to be done but the money to do it has not been lost and it will now take place in the spring." He said there had been "a lot of confusion" around the proposed road closure and the traffic management plan that would have to be implemented as a result. Majella Hunt, Director of Services with Roscommon County Council, said the recent poor weather conditions were the reason for the postponement. "This work is, and always was, weather dependent," said Ms Hunt. "In the lead up to the expected start date, of next Monday, the weather has been poor. "Because of the rain and frost we've been having, and because it doesn't seem likely that these conditions will change, it was decided yesterday that we would postpone the work." Ms Hunt said the council would decide on a new start date in January, but that project would not now begin until early spring. Roscommon County Council had advertised a closure notice period of Monday December 5 to Friday December 23 for the route. Despite this closure notice period of almost three weeks, the council said that if weather conditions were favourable the work would not take longer than six days to complete.