Kids face major disruption to school bus journey following bridge collapse
by Caoimhe Hegarty
A number of local school children are facing major disruption to their journeys to and from school as a result of a diversionary bus route put in place by the local education authority following the sudden collapse of a local bridge.
The bridge along the Iniscarn Road, Desertmartin, collapsed at around 6pm last Monday evening.
A week on, residents living in the Desertmartin area remain in the dark as to why the bridge, which was recently renovated, collapsed and when repair work is expected to begin.
In the meantime, up to 20 school children, who travel to school by bus, are facing significant challenges in making their way to and from the new pickup point at Cullion Primary School.
One local resident, who preferred not to be identified, told the County Derry Post that due to work commitments, getting her children to and from the new pick point is ‘a massive problem’.
“Our problem is that both my husband and I work. I am not always here in the mornings to take the children over to Cullion Primary School by car and it’s too far for them to walk, especially now coming into the darker evenings but it’s not just us, there are a number of families in the same position,” she said.
The mum-of-three added: “I’ve been phoning around different agencies to highlight our problems but no one seems to be listening. It’s been over a week now but nothing has been done. We haven’t been told anything and at the end of the day, we could be waiting several months before the bridge is repaired.”
The woman continued: “Local parents are up in arms because our concerns are being totally ignored. I am starting to think it’s because we live in a rural area, if we lived in a more built-up area, would we be treated this way? Would that make a difference? I honestly feel like giving up but if I do that, there is a very real possibility that my children will not make it into school,” she said.
Another local resident, who also lives a considerable distance from the new pickup point, said she is ‘stressed’ about how she will get her children to school in the coming weeks.
“This is causing huge problems in the local community. I am not even sure how I will get my own children to school because I don’t always have access to a car. I am really stressed out about it. I have managed to make arrangements for the next week but after that I have no idea what I am going to do. A number of us have expressed our concerns to the education authority, even to transport NI but we are being told nothing. Where is the decency, where is the consideration to these children?”
Sinn Féin’s Francie Molloy has called for a site meeting at the bridge.
He said: “Parents are being asked to drive their children to Cullion Primary School in order to catch the bus to Draperstown, where previously the children could get the bus from a purpose-built bus stop at the end of Crocknamohil Road. As we approach winter, a time when transport along rural roads is usually an issue anyway due to weather conditions, this bridge closure is only going to lead to increased inconvenience and a temporary solution needs to be put in place whilst the rebuilding gets underway.”
He added: “Questions need to be asked of the Department of Infrastructure about the amount of money that was recently spent renovating the bridge, and how it could be possible for it to collapse so soon after repair works were carried out. I will be asking for an urgent report on the structure of the bridge as it looks like it was reconstructed on poor foundations. In addition to requesting a report on the structure of this particular bridge, I think it is imperative that a structural engineer’s assessment is carried out on all bridges across Mid Ulster to ensure that this does not happen again,” he said.
After being contacted by the County Derry Post, a spokesperson for the Education Authority last night said: “EA Transport staff are reviewing the situation very carefully and are working to minimise any impact on pupils travelling to and from school. The bridge closure in Desertmartin has resulted in diversions to local school transport services in the area and a number of pupils will be required to access school transport routes at alternative locations until normal services can resume. The Authority would appreciate the cooperation of parents during this time.”