21 collisions at Blakestown Bridge since beginning of 2021

The low-lying bridge on Blakestown Road in Dublin 15 is once again a topic for debate in Fingal County Council after two more vehicles collided with it in recent weeks.

Since the beginning of 2021 at least 21 vehicles have crashed into the bridge despite the council introducing various safety measures.

One truck collided with the bridge on Saturday, June 30, while another came in contact with it on Friday, July 8.

Local Sinn Fein councillor Angela Donnelly has asked the local authority to address the matter, saying that more needs to be done to deter drivers of taller vehicles from trying to drive under the bridge.

“There are five warning signs travelling Northbound and three warning signs travelling sound bound,” she says.

“The clearance height of the bridge is on the signs.

“The bridge itself, on each face has signage showing the clearance height and has warning orange and black chevrons to make the low bridge more visible.

“The council installed Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) in 2020, which are only activated by vehicles of 2.6 metres or more.

“The VAS is located before the bridge and once activated, flash, stating “LOW BRIDGE, TURN BACK”.

“The Operations Department feel that there is adequate signage on the approach.”

However, Donnelly says that the current safeguards are not adequate.

“Surely at least 21 crashes at that bridge since the beginning of 2021 screams that the measures are not working,” she says.

“If the council told me that in addition to all of the aforementioned measures, they also had a brass band march in front of every high vehicle I would still be saying the measures are not working.

“In addition to the damage to the vehicles and the damage to the bridge, crashes cause traffic chaos on a very busy road.”

The number of vehicle collisions with the bridge has inspired the creation of a Facebook page called Ireland’s Most Battered Bridge which documents every accident.

The page currently has over 6,300 followers.

“I would like to know if any of the drivers of the vehicles in question have been interviewed following the crashes to see if there are any lessons that can be learned,” Donnelly says.

“Yes, there have been measures introduced and yes you would expect these quite substantial measures to have worked, but the reality is that they have not.

“We need to go back to the drawing board and implement some more measures.”

In response, Fingal County Council said it has recently contacted Google to ask if it is possible to not direct drivers of vehicles above 2.6m in the direction of the bridge on navigational apps.

Raising the bridge or lowering the road beneath the bridge would require extensive works and would not be cost effective, the council says.

“Generally, with situations like this, the council or other governing bodies would look for proof,” Donnelly says.

“You would be asked to make your case.

“To convince people, that what you are seeking is warranted.

“There is on average an accident a month.

“The measures are clearly insufficient! This bridge is still a major accident blackspot in Dublin 15.”