'It's a death trap'... Navan councillors are demanding urgent action at 'notorious' Balreask junction

Yet another accident at the Balreask Cross junction in Navan has led to renewed calls for traffic calming at the cross.

“People are taking terrible risks at that junction,” the Mayor of Navan, Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said.

“It's a death trap. People are taking chances there when they are 15-20 minutes waiting in a queue,” he said.

Cllr Fitzsimons, who has been calling for safety measures at the junction for years, said the intersection needs to be prioritised for safety measures.

“There are plans to improve the junction as part of the Beechmount to Balreask Cross pedestrian and cycle scheme.

“I am calling on the council to start work on this scheme at the cross and work back towards town, to ensure safety measures are in place there as soon as possible.

“I cannot understand why it hasn't been done by now. I will be raising it at the Navan Municipal District meeting this week,” he said.

Residents have been calling for safety measures at the junction for more than a decade and in January 2020 locals submitted a petition to the council but are still waiting for safety works to be carried out.

In the mornings and evenings, there are long tailbacks approaching Balreask Cross, particularly on the Borallion, as motorists wait for a break in the heavy traffic on the Trim-Navan Road so they can get across or turn. It means motorists are taking chances and locals say there have been a number of accidents at the junction in recent years.

Cllr Emer Tóibón said Meath County Council “can no longer allow motorists risk life and limb at the notorious junction and needs to finally act in the interests of safety.

“The latest collision at the Borallion/Balreask junction last Saturday week saw somebody having to be cut out of their vehicle. It was yet another stark reminder of the danger faced daily by motorists, cyclists and pedestrians at this long-problematic crossroads.

“For years, locals have been forced to navigate this junction, essentially playing 'Russian Roulette' with their lives.

“This junction’s safety has been raised countless times, petitions have been signed, and it has been discussed repeatedly at council meetings. Meath County Council is fully aware of the risks. Yet nothing has changed.”

She recalled that under the now-abandoned Pathfinder cycle scheme from Navan to Trim there had been plans for safety works there. “Its cancellation was a major blow to public confidence and to everyone who relies on this busy route every day,” she said.

“Following the latest collision, I again asked Meath County Council a simple and urgent question: when will this junction finally receive the technical, structural and safety-focused overhaul it so clearly requires?

“We cannot continue with this haphazard layout for another year. Delivery and implementation of a revised junction design in 2026 is critical to preventing further accidents and injuries.

“This latest incident, alongside years of accidents and near-misses, must galvanise Meath County Council into long-overdue action. This junction is simply not safe and has not been safe for years.

“I am calling on the Council to get onsite immediately, design and implement a junction that is fit for purpose, can accommodate current traffic volumes, and places the safety of all road users first.”

She said a roundabout was the most sensible solution. “While this was previously ruled out due to space constraints, the cutting back of the nearby hedgerow may now provide sufficient space in line with roundabout design standards.

“Driver responsibility is, of course, a key component of road safety and no one disputes that. However, this junction has seen far too many accidents and near misses over many years for the issue to be dismissed as driver behaviour alone.

“The frequency and pattern of incidents clearly point to the need for remedial works and a proper junction redesign. Where a layout repeatedly gives rise to collisions, the onus is on the local authority to intervene, redesign and make the road environment safer for all users. developments in general along the road.

Meath County Council has been approached for comment.