Roadwork delays on Kilkenny Road ‘are driving people nuts’
An aerial view of traffic backed up on the Kilkenny Road, Carlow yesterday morning (Monday) Photo: Michael O'Rourke Photography
LOCAL councillors have yet again expressed concern at the roadworks on Kilkenny Road, which are leading to extreme delays for motorists.
At the most recent meeting of Carlow Municipal District on 26 February, cllr Fintan Phelan said “it just doesn’t stack up” that the delays last week were caused by heavy rainfall, as was the explanation offered by the Active Travel team at Carlow Co Council.
“People are waiting untold lengths of time. It shouldn’t be the case. There’s something not right there,” he told the council. He asked members to bring his concerns to the team managing the project.
“It’s unacceptable and something needs to be done about it,” he concluded.
Mayor of Carlow MD, cllr Paul Doogue, said: “I agree with you totally on that one cllr Phelan.” He said he had heard of people taking detours via the M9 to avoid driving on Kilkenny Road.
“The impact study states quite clearly that a minimum amount of disruption would take place. That’s beyond a joke at this age,” said cllr Doogue.
Residents have been expressing their displeasure on social media with both the way traffic has been handled and the impact that the narrowing of the road for additional cycle lanes will have into the future.
The delays are “driving people nuts,” said cllr Adrienne Wallace.
Several councilors suggested that the works could be done at night instead, but Cian Madden, senior engineer with the council, shut this suggestion down, saying it is unfeasible in a residential area. “The working hours at the moment are 7am to 7pm anyway,” he noted.
Mr Madden added that last week was “particularly difficult” because the ESB arrived on site to remove existing overhead lines outside of SETU and connect the new public lighting and traffic signals. “Once the ESB arrive, you have to facilitate them because if you send them away, God knows when they’re going to come back,” said Mr Madden.
On Tuesday 24 February, Carlow Co Council issued a statement saying its staff had met the contractor on site to review its traffic management measures. It admitted the work underway last week – the installation of new slipform kerb from SETU to Granby Row junction, alongside the ESB work â was “particularly challenging”, but noted that it expected this to be completed by the end of the week. The council apologised to the public for the inconvenience caused.
On Thursday 26 February, director of services for the council, Paula O’Brien, reassured members that she would take their concerns to the Active Travel team and ask them for additional information about the issue.
Mr Madden further asked council members to make representations directly to the Active Travel team, as he was not aware of any queries by councillors being logged with the team.
