Co Down road compared to A5 in terms of danger and number of deaths as improvements call is made
A main road in Co Down has been compared to the A5 in the west of the Province in terms of the dangers it presents and the lives it has claimed.
And Newry, Mourne and Down District councillors have called for major improvements along the length of the A2 route between Newcastle and Rostrevor.
The council approved a motion this week asking the Minister of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Liz Kimmins to take action on the stretch of dangerous road.
Major concerns were raised in chambers on the route with a councillor alluding to 45 deaths being “just the tip of the iceberg”.
Bringing forward the motion, SDLP councillor Laura Devlin said: ”The route between Newcastle and Kilkeel is one of the main arterial routes in our district affecting many thousands of residents.
“Many will say that the department does not have the money to carry out the necessary resurfacing.
“However, in the last five years the department has paid out £32m in claims for compensation in associated costs of our road network. Almost £8m of that was in this district alone.
“This should paint a really stark picture for us that our roads are in dire straits. We need the Minister to take real and immediate action to address this.”
DUP councillor, Glyn Hanna added: “I have worked in the motor trade for some 40 odd years and I don’t believe there is one corner of that road that I haven’t recovered a vehicle from.
“They talk about the A5 being a deadly road, but when I think of the fatalities on the A2, I had to stop at 45, but I just kept thinking of more.
“It is horrendous the amount of deaths there have been. I remember a young man of 17 or 18 years old, who worked for me and his girlfriend, being in a fatal crash.
"I just happened to be the first one at the accident, close to the Orange Hall in Ballymartin. I couldn’t describe their injuries to you, they were that bad.
"But, talk about strange times, I recall Fr Casey coming down and kneeling on the Orange Hall steps and doing the necessary.”
The elected member recalled many more road crash fatalities to the chamber in detail before making an amendment for a full inspection and repairs to pinch points once resurfacing was done.
He added: “The fatalities I have talked about are just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve had so many friends killed on that road, I am so passionate about this motion.
“The A2 is a road of death, it needs a massive upgrade. There are parts of the infrastructure from as far back as the famine, that’s how long ago it was built.
"And to be quite honest to be dependent on that type of infrastructure is just wrong. “I don’t want to see anybody else killed.”