No upgrade for Ballineen roads until new water main installed

THE crumbling road surface through Ballineen village will not be resurfaced until Uisce Éireann carries out major infrastructural work first, it has emerged.

Locals have complained about the state of the R586 which runs through the village which they say is in need of urgent repairs and is damaging vehicles.

However, a Cork County Council spokesperson said that it would be premature to undertake any substantive resurfacing works in Ballineen in advance of the completion of the Uisce Éireann works.

‘Uisce Éireann has advanced plans to develop the existing waste-water infrastructure at the west end of Ballineen and the works include the installation of a new rising main on the road carriageway up from Bridge Street and west along the R586.’

The spokesperson acknowledged that the road surface through the village would benefit from resurfacing.

‘Cork County Council will in the coming months undertake a repair of the existing surface at the Bridge St/ R586 junction as a temporary measure in advance of the winter season.’

The local authority has also confirmed that tender documentation is currently being prepared for the appointment of a consultant in relation to the proposed new public toilets in the twin villages of Enniskeane and Ballineen.

The original toilet block, which dated from the 1970s was demolished in 2021 and the village has been left without public toilets since.

Cork County Council has confirmed that a unisex toilet and a disabled access public toilet will be installed within the footprint of the previously demolished toilets at Derrigra.

There are also plans for a new paved area and a small landscaped area.

The local authority has also said they are examining viable options for the rearrangements of the junction at Béal na Bláth on the R585 by the Diamond Bar, which has seen numerous road traffic collisions in recent years, due to sightline issues for traffic coming from both sides.

‘It is a complex location with numerous engineering challenges and restricted land availability,’ said a spokesperson.