Up to 100 people protested in Donegal town yesterday over a junction on the new £19 million bypass which they say is "extremely dangerous".
The Tullyearl Action Group was formed two weeks ago to press for a T-junction at one end of the bypass to be replaced with a roundabout. They said there have been at least 14 accidents at the Tullyearl junction since the bypass opened on July 27th.
"Four of those accidents were very serious. Luckily there were no fatalities but people were seriously hurt," Mr Manus Brennan said.
He said there have been no problems at two roundabouts on the bypass. "There are four or five things wrong with the junction, but the problem is that people don't really know what to do when they come to it. It is not a junction that you come across very often," Mr Brennan said.
Traffic from Donegal town joins the bypass at the T-junction, to head south towards Ballyshannon. This traffic has to turn right, crossing the busy road. An island in the centre allows motorists to cross in two stages, but south-bound traffic turns right towards the town at the same point.
Mr Brennan said traffic on the bypass was travelling at speed, so accidents were often serious. With only one lane at that point, traffic had nowhere to go if a slow-moving vehicle pulled out.
"Also when an articulated lorry goes into that central area, some of it is left sticking out and it blocks traffic going in the other direction," he added.