FUNDING is being sought from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for work on the roads out of Castletownbere amid claims some of them are subsiding,
Cllr Finbarr Harrington told a council meeting that if the department could invest millions in a pier, ‘they can invest in the road’ as well.
Claiming that the roads are suffering due to the increased volume of articulated trucks, Cllr Harrington said many parts of the verge are now subsiding, especially where the road is narrow.
He asked the local authority to consider applying for extra funding through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund for the Castletownbere to Glengarriff road, the Glengarriff to Ballylickey route, and on to Crookstown.
The €48 million Dinish Wharf Expansion at Castletownbere Harbour was officially opened in February 2024, following on from the €40 million deep water quay built in 2011.
Fellow councillors agreed, with Cllr Joe Carroll referring the ‘nerve wrecking’ experience of meeting a truck on the road between Béal na Blath and Crookstown, where ‘you’d only have inches to spare’.
Council officials said they would welcome any additional funding that could be availed of, and would contact with the Department to see if there were any road projects that could be funded via the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
A consultant has been appointed to carry out preliminary design for works in the vicinity of Adrigole Bridge and the planning documents should be published before the end of year; the council have been funded to the tune of €100,000 for this project so far.
On top of this, €50,000 has been put aside for resurfacing at the problematic junction at Ouvane Falls, while there are hopes of funding for repaving on the Droumkeel to Ballylickey route to be carried out in 2026.
