ESB red tape is delaying the introduction of a €200,000 computerised traffic system designed to ease congestion on the bridge linking the heritage towns of Killaloe and Ballina on the Clare-Tipperary border.
The 18th century 13-arch bridge was recently closed for 24 hours to allow councils on both sides of the Shannon to put a traffic light system in place.
The bridge, built for the horse and cart and only 4.8m wide in places (Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge is 3.8m wide), is the main crossing point on the Shannon between Portumna, in Co Galway, and Limerick city.
Both towns experience daily tailbacks that can last up to 40 minutes.
These tailbacks are likely to continue into the summer as the councils are unable to supply a start-up date for the system because the ESB has yet to state when it will connect the new lighting system to the local power supply.
Michael Wolfe, North Tipperary engineer with the Nenagh and Newport area, confirmed yesterday that the connection application was made to the ESB six weeks ago but as yet there has been no reply.
A spokesman for the ESB said yesterday: "Since the opening of the electricity market on February 19th this year, the connection process has changed and it may appear that more bureaucracy has been added to the process."
He added that the ESB would look at the application as a priority when all the regulatory obligations had been fulfilled.
In addition to regulating traffic, the lights are designed to ensure delays of four minutes for all traffic using advanced sensors on the approach routes.
Meanwhile, county engineer Tom Carey said that work on a feasibility study on building a new crossing across the river Shannon to alleviate the pressure on the existing bridge was expected to be finalised within the next two months.
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