Benburn bridge collapse leaves rural village 'isolated and overlooked'

Seven months after a bridge linking a rural village to nearby communities collapsed, residents say they are feeling "isolated and overlooked" by repeated delays to repair the route. The Maydown Road, on the outskirts of Benburb in Northern Ireland, crosses the River Blackwater, linking south Tyrone and north Armagh. A retaining wall on the approach to the bridge partially collapsed on 2 October last year during heavy rain the day before Storm Amy hit Northern Ireland. Pauline McAnallen who owns a shop in village, said she has "experienced a significant downturn in business". "There's no doubt the bridge is having a big impact, and it's actually contributed to some businesses closing" she said. "We're all just feeling overlooked in this area, we never imagined we'd still be in this situation seven months later. "To make matters worse the communication from the Department for Infrastructure has been limited and infrequent." The community in Benburb have previously raised concerns about how long bridge repairs were taking. The Stormont department responsible for fixing it said it would be completed by mid-April. That deadline has now been missed, and Department for Infrastructure (DfI