Barleycove road finally reopens – 83 days later

BY JACKIE KEOGH

AFTER 83 days of closure, the causeway in Barleycove has been reopened.

Independent Cllr Michael Collins said the closure of the road on September 11th – after it was badly damaged during a storm – caused ‘considerable inconvenience’ for locals who are relieved that the road has been reopened, and restored to such a high standard.

The councillor said the storm caused ‘hundreds of thousands of euro of damage in the Mizen Peninsula’ and that the repair works were included as part of a €3m application for funding that was submitted by the Council to the Department of Transport.

Four roads in total – two of which were minor – were affected in the Goleen area, but the biggest damage was to the causeway that runs parallel to Barleycove Beach. A culvert under the road collapsed, which caused a huge hole to appear on the surface, rendering the road impassable.

Commenting on the 83-day closure, Cllr Collins said: ‘It wasn’t just local residents and local farmers who were inconvenienced, the traffic disruption had an effect on local businesses too, because there was a fall-of in trade.’

Parents and children trying to access Lissigriffin School also had to use an alternative route that added several miles to their journey, four times a day.