Call for Athlone to Roscommon road to be upgraded to dual carriageway status

By Rebekah O'Reilly

The upgrade of the N61 Roscommon to Athlone road to a dual carriageway was suggested at a recent meeting of Roscommon County Council.

The 37.8km stretch of road was deemed 'no longer fit for purpose' by councillor Tony Ward, as he noted the increasing number of road users on the route each day.

"You know the way TII moves in relation to [roads]. The N61 is no longer fit for purpose," he said.

"There's a huge amount of houses being built there, and all of these households are using smaller roads to join the N61."

The non-party councillor said a new link road is also needed from Monksland to the Roscommon Road.

"There's a lot of traffic on the Curraghmore road. A link road would be a huge improvement to traffic in Roscommon."

Mark Keaveney, Roscommon County Council, Director of Economic, Planning and Physical Development noted that Roscommon County Council had already applied for funding for a new link road in the region.

"We have applied for funding on that link road, and are hoping to hear in the New Year. We are also creating a new proposal to upgrade the N61 to a National Primary Road."

Cllr Ward later added: "I would propose that the N61 be replaced with a dual carriageway from Athlone to Roscommon and down into Sligo."

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme