Almost 130 road projects completed in Nenagh area

Almost 130 road projects were completed in Nenagh Municipal District in 2023.

Last month's district meeting heard of a series of road, bridge and drainage schemes carried out between March and December. Among those mentioned by District Engineer Barry Murphy were the improvement works in Portroe village, interim drainage works in Ballina, and road junction at Kilcommon.

Emphasis was placed during the year on tackling “red roads”, those with the worst classification under the Pavement Surface Condition Index (PSCI). The council spent around €375,000 on seven red routes throughout the district.

Local Improvement Schemes (LIS) also progressed during the year, as did work on regional roads, including the R497 at Curreeny, where €320,000 was spent on a 2km section.

Despite double-digit inflation and a wet summer, Mr Murphy was pleased with the amount of work achieved in Nenagh Municipal District in 2023. He said the emphasis would now change to routine maintenance, potholes and drainage before resumption of the main works in March, when a new three-year roadworks programme would begin.

Cllr Michael O'Meara complimented the council on not just the amount but also the quality of work achieved on roads in the Nenagh district. While there are still a lot of red roads to be tackled in the district, “we're getting on top of them”, Cllr O'Meara was pleased to say.

“By the end of the next three-year roadworks programme, we'll have wiped out them all. I would ask the public to bear with us on it.”

Mentioning Ballyea and Coolross as two roads he would like to see extra expenditure on, Cllr O'Meara said he wants to see the council getting out a bit earlier with its 2024 roadworks programme.

Cllr Ger Darcy also praised the council executive and staff on their roadworks efforts. He suggested that a bad section of bends on the old Birr road out of Cloughjordan could be looked at over the Christmas period.

Cllr John Carroll mentioned that the people of Portroe are very thankful for the work carried out there in 2023. He highlighted a need to replace the bridge wall at Tullaheady and to address a flooding issue at the M7 interchange at Carrigatoher, where there was a bad drainage problem last summer.

He furthermore asked the council to look at traffic sightlines at Ballyrusheen junction, and to seek further funding for the R497 at Rearcross.

Cllr Carroll also wanted to see the council's patching machines out and inlets opened in order to protect roads in the event of frosty conditions following six months of wet weather.

Cllr Fiona Bonfield said the R503 Newport road would require attention before the end of the next three-year roadworks programme. She also highlighted a flooding issue at Cloneygowney, Portroe, and informed the meeting about cyclists' concerns over maintaining the cycle lanes on the old N7 (R445).

‘WE ARE GETTING ON TOP OF THINGS’

Also praising the council's attention to red routes was Cllr Joe Hannigan. “I feel we are getting on top of things,” he enthused.

He was particularly pleased to see work progressing with the water pipeline replacement in Puckane and said the road should be reinstated properly afterward. Cllr Hannigan also wanted attention focused on Terryglass village and Tombricane, Borrisokane.

For Cllr Phyll Bugler, maintaining the R496 was a priority, particularly between Dunalley Line and Roolagh junction. There is also a need for better warning signage at Darcy's Bridge, she said, where motorists are driving through the yield signs without slowing.

Cllr John Rocky McGrath congratulated the council on a “fabulous job” at Templederry bridge during the year. He asked for a light to be installed at the location in order to make it safer.

Responding to the councillors' comments, Mr Murphy said the roadworks programme traditionally starts around St Patrick's Day. Starting earlier would be an issue, as the council could not afford to neglect routine maintenance. The council would not in any case get its budgetary approval until March and there are a limited number of contractors available to carry out the work.

That said, it was his hope to start the programme earlier in 2024, beginning with wet mix works. If the council receives any additional funding, it will be spent, Mr Murphy assured the meeting.

Of the issues raised, he told Cllr Carroll that he would pursue Transport Infrastructure Ireland over the drainage issue at Carrigatoher. The R497 is on the list for priority works, while the council is awaiting submission of a wind farm planning application on the R503.

BALLINA BRIDGE SCHEME

Regarding the issues raised by Cllr Bugler, Mr Murphy said a lot of preparatory work was carried out on the R496 in anticipation of the high traffic volumes now being experienced on the route. This included strengthening verges and capping potholes.

He expected that the road would be considerably relieved of traffic next May when the R494 is due to reopen, but assured that routine maintenance would continue until then. The R494 in Ballina itself would be the next priority ahead of the bridge scheme.

District Director Marcus O'Connor said the council had prioritised expenditure on red roads. This policy has worked and needs to continue, he said.

Among the other issues that Mr O'Connor commented on were the R445 cycle lanes. He agreed that there is one particularly bad section of around 200m heading in the direction of Limerick. The lanes are in otherwise good order, he said.