Motorway through Offaly and Tipperary is 'unusable' in wet weather

THE 15-kilometre stretch of road of the M7 motorway, which winds briefly through Offaly and into North Tipperary, has gained a reputation as particularly treacherous during inclement weather and recently busy weekend traffic was forced to pull into the hard shoulder because conditions became too dangerous for travel during heavy downpours.

The segment of the M7 motorway between junction 22 at Roscrea and junction 23 at Moneygall has been the subject of previous studies by engineers, who say the road experiences its own micro-climate, where fog, rain and hail can occur more frequently.

The issue was raised at the monthly meeting of the Municipal Council for the Roscrea, Thurles and Templemore area on Monday, where Independent Roscrea based Councillor, Shane Lee, described the stretch of motorway as “so dangerous it is unusable” during challenging wet driving conditions.

He said over 20 cars and vans were forced to stop travelling completely and pull into the hard shoulder of the motorway when weather conditions deteriorated during heavy weekend traffic.

Torrents of water cascading across the road and large pools of standing water are some of the perils faced by motorists unfamiliar with the road, Cllr. Lee said - resulting “in a huge number of accidents”, he said. Motorists unwittingly find themselves driving into potentially catastrophic conditions on the main route between Dublin and Limerick, Cllr. Lee said.