Tunnel fails to relieve ‘death trap’ road traffic

RESIDENTS remain under siege on a regional road linking north Tipperary and Limerick despite government assurances the new Shannon Tunnel would improve their quality of life.

Heavy lorries on the narrow R466 — which links the motorway with a River Shannon crossing — have forced parents to keep children indoors, it has been claimed. According to O’Briens bridge Community Group chairman Mick Murtagh, about 60 householders living on the Birdhill to Montpelier road have also lost family pets due to heavy traffic using the non-national road.

Mr Murtagh said the opening of the new€660 million Limerick Tunnel had provided Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary county councils with the perfect opportunity to address a so-called “death trap” by placing traffic restrictions on the route.