Bally-no-trust in Google!

Sean McMahon

Work on the newly realigned N55 road from Ballinagh to Killydoon is progressing rapidly and will be a wonderful improvement for motorists when completed.

However, as in life, nothing ever runs smoothly and The Anglo-Celt has learned this week that Google Maps and sat navs are leading lorry drivers and motorists astray.
Four New Yorkers recently turned up in Joe Harten’s yard on Ballytrust lane in the heart of Mullahoran, having diligently followed the directions of Google Maps, which continue to follow the old route, which is now closed and only open to local traffic.
While it may be amusing to some, for Joe it's no laughing matter.

“This has started to occur in the past three weeks when the new roundabout appeared outside of Ballinagh. We have had several articulated lorries stuck in the lane and one driver was stuck for two days with a load of steel. They are tearing the ditches out of it and destroying the lane,” said Joe.

 

Stream of traffic

He said the problem was that the Google Maps had not yet been updated to follow the route of the newly-aligned segment of road that has been completed. There is a sign at the roundabout that indicates the new route to Granard and Athlone.

 

Expedite
Meanwhile, Cavan County Council said that it is aware of the problem. A statement issued read: ‘Adequate advance directional signage is in place, but navigational apps, generally Google Maps, are directing motorists to follow the old road layout despite directional signage indicating otherwise.

"Cavan County Council has submitted new map layouts to all major 'sat nav' manufacturers and followed Google's standard procedure for notification of road changes. In addition, Cavan County Council has reached out to Google at an official level in order to expedite this change. Unfortunately, the new road layout has not yet been uploaded to the Google Maps application.'