Woman dodges ‘flying debris’ as roadworks return to town

The woman was coming up Edward Street on foot when she encountered the roadworks. She said: “As I was walking past this guy was working away with a Kango hammer. A piece of rock shot out right in front of my leg. I was lucky to avoid it.

“It was very dangerous. Imagine if I’d have been a mother wheeling a pram or walking their child and that bit of rock had hit their child. It could have done some serious damage.

“Surely it isn’t best practice to have work like this going on so close to pedestrians?”

The public realm works began again during the second week in January with the contractor, McLaughlin & Harvey, advising businesses on streets affected by the latest works during late December.

Each section of roughly 100 to 120 metres will take approximately five to six weeks to complete. The contractor will continue to work on both sides of Market Street, while also completing William Street and the north side of Edward Street. The section closest to the junction of William Street and Church Place will be completed outside normal working hours to minimise traffic disruption. The final stage of construction will be the central reservation, with the overall works complete during May 2013.

With regard to the incident involving the flying piece of debris, a council spokesperson said: “In terms of health and safety, the contractor is working within all legislative requirements and will aim to meet or exceed best practice.”

Of the overall realm works the spokesperson said: “Council, in partnership with traders (some of whom submitted a petition in support of the scheme), lobbied hard to bring £1.75m of DSD funding to Lurgan.

“Council is contributing £200,000 to the scheme which will replace surfaces which in places are in very poor condition with a high quality granite finish. While a degree of disruption is inevitable during the construction phase, council have worked closely with the project team to work as efficiently as possible while maintaining access to all premises.

“The completed scheme will secure consistently high quality surfaces, landscaping, lighting and street furniture throughout the town centre. Lurgan’s built form is a considerable asset, reflected by Conservation Area status and this project aims to improve the quality of public places and spaces while retaining established character.”