Update:
A section of the N18 in Co Clare has reopened after it had to closed to traffic for almost five hours this afternoon when a van collided with a high-tension cable barrier leaving it in an unsafe condition.
The incident occurred at around 1.15pm in the northbound carriageway between the footbridge at Setrights in Cratloe and the turn off for Ballymorris. The van travelled for about 50 metres over the barrier before coming to a stop however, the driver was uninjured.
Gardaà and units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon station responded to the incident along with Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) road maintenance crews.
A section of the safety barrier was damaged in the impact while one cable was left lying across lane 1. The cables remained under tension however and had to be made safe before the van could be removed.
While lane 1 and the hard shoulder were unaffected, it was still deemed too dangerous to allow cars drive past the scene. As a result, the route was closed at junction 5 at Cratloe and traffic diverted away from the area.
Motorists were left backed up several kilometres as far as the Limerick Tunnel for much of the afternoon while traffic slowly filtered off the N18 onto smaller local roads. Buses and heavy goods vehicles were safely allowed through the scene at times when it was safe to do so.
A team of TII technicians had to be deployed to ‘de-tension’ the cables in the affected section of barrier. They used specialist equipment to remove tension from the cables and once this was completed, fire crews set about releasing cables and posts from beneath the van.
The van was recovered from the scene and the route partially reopened shortly after 6.30pm.
Fire crews implemented an emergency traffic management system to allow one lane to be opened so traffic while TII personnel could  continue to work safely on repairing the barrier.
Earlier: A section of the N18 dual-carriageway in Co Clare has been closed to traffic after a van collided with a high-tension cable barrier leaving it in a dangerous condition.
The incident occurred at around 1.15pm in the northbound carriageway between the footbridge at Setrights and the turn off for Ballymorris.
Gardaà and units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Shannon station responded to the incident along with Traffic Infrastructure Ireland (TII) road maintenance crews.
A section of the safety barrier was damaged in the impact and will require a specialist team to be deployed to ‘de-tension’ the cables in the affected section.
While lane one and the hard shoulder were unaffected, it was still deemed too dangerous to allow cars drive past the scene. As a result, the route has been closed at junction 5 at Cratloe and traffic diverted away from the area.
A number of heavy goods vehicles and passenger buses, have however been allowed pass safely past the damaged section of barrier.
There is no indication yet when the N18 will be fully reopened.
