Moira works cause disruption

Jim Foster spent over an hour driving from Lurgan to Moira, hitting a standstill as soon as he reached Magheralin, he claimed, due to current installation gas pipes being carried out in the village to allow for the supply of natural gas to a new development.

Mr Foster said: “I drove from Lurgan to Moira and it took me an hour and ten minutes.

“As soon as I arrived in Magheralin the traffic just stopped, because of the gas works in Moira.

“The workers seemed like they couldn’t care less. Our lane of traffic was just stopped constantly at a red light, yet they were letting traffic through on the other side.

“If people tried to say anything they were just being shouted at by the workers,” Mr Foster added.

The installation of gas pipes is expected to last for four weeks, with traffic lights in place from 9.30am until 3.30pm.

Mr Foster added that he has contacted Councillor Alexander Redpath over the traffic problems, who said he has had several constituents get in touch with him with regards to the situation.

“I have spoken to Mr Foster regarding the traffic situation in Moira and I am shocked by what he had to tell me,” Councillor Redpath said.

“Several constituents have been in touch regarding the impact on traffic of these works.

“I warned before the works began that Moira’s existing traffic problems would become unmanageable if works were carried out without considerable adjustment to meet traffic needs.”

He added: “I have passed on the concerns of constituents to the relevant authorities and I will be closely monitoring the works to see if any further complaints arise.”

Ryan Krammer, Town Engineer for Firmus energy said: “Carrying out this work on the Main Street, through to Glebe Avenue, will enable firmus energy to connect the new build site and further extend our network. During this time, some lane closures will be necessary but we promise to work as quickly as we can and cause as little disruption as possible.”