NRA to consider extending life-saving road system

A UNIQUE road system has exceeded all expectations by saving lives and preventing traffic accidents on what was one of the country’s most dangerous roads.

A preliminary report set to be released by the National Roads Authority on the success of the pilot 2+1 system shows it is considering fast tracking plans to roll-out the overtaking barrier beyond what it was previously considering.

Up to now the NRA had earmarked a mere 7.5% of new standard two-lane and wide two-lane roads to be fitted with the alternating barrier system.

It is designed to allow people to overtake every two kilometres while restricting manoeuvres in between times.

Up until now out of 496 kilometres of two-way roads planned for development only 37km was supposed to be built to 2+1 specifications.

However, Forbes Vigors, the NRA project manager, says “excellent” results on the Mallow to Cork road have changed the planning landscape and it is now looking at a number of projects that could be upgraded.

He said: “We cannot give exact figures at the moment but what we are saying is that it is working, it is brilliant so let’s go elsewhere”.

He said that when the report is released it will show a drop in the volume of collisions and in the severity of damage caused to cars that were involved in accidents.

He pointed to the fact that the existence of 2+1 barriers cut road fatalities by 50% in cases where there are crashes on two-way national roads.

Mr Vigors said that initially the NRA was going to wait until all of its pilot projects had been assessed over an extended period of time but with lives at stake this timetable will be redrawn.

He said: “We had earmarked five or six pilot schemes and ideally we would wait to see the results of them before progressing, but that might take five or six years and we are looking at a number of road projects that are in planning and where 2+1’s could be included”.

The NRA figures will be based on the number of accidents, the amount of road fatalities, the severity of collisions and the volume of traffic using the road.

According to Mr Forbes the data will not be released for a number of weeks in case they start to vary wildly, but based on initial figures lives had already been saved.