Frustration for drivers at Francis Street

The latest failure at the Lurgan junction is reportedly the third time in the past fortnight that the traffic lights have failed to function as normal.

DUP Councillor Carla Lockhart commented: “There would appear to be an underlying problem with the lights in this area. I have personally reported them three times over the course of the last couple of weeks and, whilst on each occasion they have been attended to by Roads Service, I believe a further in-depth investigation is required to find the root of the problem.”

Councillor Lockhart drew attention to the potential safety risks posed by the compromised traffic lights:

“This is a busy junction and I know that I used it on more than one occasion on a day that the lights were out - it was a case of taking your life in your hands, trying to navigate the junction,” she continued. “I am in continued contact with Roads Service and will be working with them to ensure that this problem is sorted out once and for all.”

SDLP Councillor Declan McAlinden called this a matter of serious concern.

“The traffic lights at Francis Street over these last few weeks have been a cause of real concern and, indeed, from they were upgraded last year. They have broken a number of times and it seems to be at weekends when traffic is at its busiest time.

“Traffic heading in and out of town was having to manoeuvre with great caution to prevent an accident and pedestrians were caught, unable to cross the roads safely. I call on Transport NI to sort this problem out with immediate effect - before a serious accident occurs.”

A spokesperson for TransportNI said that the issue had now been resolved.

“The signals are now in working order.

“Unfortunately, there was an intermittent fault with an electronic component in the traffic signal controller which has now been identified and replaced.”