New guidelines on roadworks issued

Comprehensive new guidelines for local authorities carrying out roadworks have been issued to all city and county managers by the Department of Transport.

They were developed in response to concerns raised by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) which had identified significant concerns in the way some councils managed roadworks during a national inspection programme.

The guidelines were formulated after detailed discussions between the Departments of Transport and Environment, the National Roads Authority and the Local Government Management Services Board.

Inadequate safety plans which failed to adequately signpost roadwork sites or impose appropriate temporary speed limits were among the most common failings identified by the HSA during its inspections.

The HSA inspections followed a series of high-profile fatal crashes at or near roadwork sites. These include the deaths of Sinead McDaid in a single-vehicle crash in Co Donegal in 2001, and the death three years later of Ashling Gallagher in another single-vehicle crash.

The families of both women believe roadworks near the scene of both crashes were a contributory factor.

The guidelines are non-statutory and a spokesman for the Department of Transport said the issue of sanctions for councils acting outside the guidelines "does not arise".

Last October, Meath County Council pleaded guilty to two charges arising from a HSA investigation into the Kentstown bus crash in which five schoolgirls died. The charges related to roadworks which were being carried out on behalf of the council at the time of the crash.

In a reply to a Dáil question last week, the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said the new guidelines, arising from the HSA's interventions "represent best practice and, inter alia, address concerns which have been raised by the HSA".

In a letter to all city and county managers last week the department says the new guidelines focus on the management of traffic on single-carriageway routes (mainly non-national roads) and the problems caused by the limited space.

Enforcement of standards at roadwork sites is a difficult area. The McDaid and Gallagher families were both frustrated that the initial investigation, into whether the road surface was a contributory factor, was led by the local authority.

After identifying a number of concerns with certain county councils during its inspection programme in 2005, the HSA started enforcement action against around eight councils. Cork County Council has legally challenged the right of the HSA to take this action, and this case is due to be heard in the High Court on November 20th.

The former Attorney General Rory Brady has also suggested, in advice to the Department of Transport, that the HSA may be overstepping its remit by trying to enforce standards at roadwork sites. The new guidelines follow the publication in March of a directive to all councils about their use of traffic signs at roadwork sites. The HSA had identified significant problems with traffic management due to issues with signposting.

While the HSA's action has led to the introduction of the new guidelines and also increased awareness of health and safety obligations at roadwork sites, it has also - according to county councils - led to increased costs for such works.