Residents and businesspeople in Portumna, Co Galway are objecting to plans to shut down the town for six weeks next year to repair a bridge over the river Shannon.
Galway County Council is planning to close the bridge which links Galway to Tipperary in September and October next year. Local county councillor Willie Burke said there was no way a shutdown of the town would be tolerated for six to eight weeks. "We know the work has to be carried out, but there are so many other things that can be done, ie building a temporary bridge like the Army do so that traffic can still pass over the bridge or working 24/7 so that the work can be finished in one to two weeks." He said the council needed to go back to the drawing board and come up with a solution that would minimise the impact on the town.
"Closing the bridge for six weeks would have an enormous impact as 50 per cent of Portumna's trade comes over the bridge from Tipperary."
One solution being put forward is to provide a ferry service. Travelling to Banagher and crossing the Shannon there would add an extra 35 miles to people's journeys. Built in 1911, the bridge at Portumna consists of two fixed-span steel sections and a timber-decked swing section.
