Motorists’ delight as Bandon bridge to get new surface

FRUSTRATED motorists in Bandon will welcome the news that long overdue resurfacing works on the town’s main bridge are to commence this week.

At last month’s meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, senior executive engineer Richard Cahill confirmed the news that resurfacing works on the bridge, which will take place at night time, will start on June 21st.

Councillors had been calling  for urgent works to be carried out there following numerous complaints from people about the poor surface on the bridge.

‘We plan to resurface from outside the Ho Kee Chinese restaurant right across the bridge and onto the Glasslyn Road,’ said Mr Cahill.

‘A geogrid will go under the final surface and that should further strengthen the road but the best way to put this on is by rolling it out across the full length of the road so it makes absolute sense to do a road closure at night.’

Mr Cahill said that by doing it this way, it will mean that the final product will be much better than if the Council closed it lane by lane, which would ultimately lead to a weak spot where the two geogrids would meet.

Cllr Sean O’Donovan (FF) said this is a welcome development for Bandon and that it has been a ‘nightmare’ for people travelling over the bridge in recent months.

Mr Cahill noted that resurfacing works also took place recently at the junction of Kilbrogan Hill and Emmet Row and he thanked local residents there who had to contend with night time works in order for it to be completed.

Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) welcomed  those recent resurfacing works and the impending works on the bridge. However, she added that there will now be a gap in the middle of North Main Street, which she said  will be very obvious and show up the whole area especially around the Heritage Centre when works are completed.