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26 Jan 2026
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26 Jan 2026
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The junction at Simmons Mill near Ballylinan (Photo: Google Maps)
Technical assessments are being carried out ahead of a potential new roundabout at a very busy junction in Laois.
Safety issues at the junction at Simmons Mill where the N80 and N78 meet near Ballylinan have been raised by local councillors for many years.
At the January meeting of the Graiguecullen / Portarlington MD, Cllr Aisling Moran brought the issue to the attention of Laois County Council yet again.
The Independent councillor urged Laois County Council and TII to start the process of putting a roundabout at the "deadly dangerous" junction.
She insisted: "This needs to be done as a matter of urgency as there have been a number of accidents here."
Cllr Moran emphasised the danger of the road, saying that during the elections a young man from the area crashed his car at the junction which then went up in flames. This was one of many accidents at the section of the road in recent years.
Cllr Padraig Fleming previously raised a motion in 2022 for safety measures at the junction which connects two very busy main roads from Portlaoise to Carlow and between Castlecomer and Athy.
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He brought it up again in October, urging Laois County Council to install flashing radar signs due to dangerous driving at the junction.
Now, Laois County Council's Road Design team have confirmed that they have liaised with TII regarding the junction which is "subject to initial funding allocation from them."
Senior Executive Engineer for the Graiguecullen / Portarlington MD, Tom Drennan, told Cllr Moran: "Kildare NRDO are assisting LCC with this and have begun traffic counts/speed surveys. These works will be progressed in Q1 of this year."
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Photo credit: Kyran O'Brian
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