Plan in place to complete road between Éire Óg and Ballinacarrig in Carlow town
The section of L4048 between Éire Óg and Ballinacarrig that is due to be finished by the end of next year. Base photo: Google Earth 2025.
A PLAN to finish the L4048 road between Éire Óg and Ballinacarrig after repeated occupations of the land was announced to Carlow councillors at a recent municipal district meeting.
In response to a request for an update on the road from cllr Fergal Browne, senior executive engineer of the council’s housing section Niall Barrett said his team hoped the road would be finished before the end of next year.
The council received funding from the housing activation section within government to “bring the road up to standard”, paving the way for lands on either side of it to be developed for housing. However, the road will remain a cul-de-sac and will only join up to the main road with the completion of the Southern Relief Road, the design of which will be shown to members in the autumn.
Mr Barrett said he was gearing up to appoint a design team, would begin to conduct investigations on the site and hoped to submit a planning application for the completion of the road in October. All going well, they will have a decision next spring and will award the contract in the second quarter of 2027.
Cllr Fergal Browne then asked if the work was mostly just “cosmetic”, to which the engineer replied: “It’s a fair bit more.”
Director of services Padraig O’Gorman elaborated: “It hasn’t been in use for a long time; it has not been finished and there are a number of services, the underground stuff that you cannot see, that need to be upgraded, and that’s where costly items are.”
Cllr Fintan Phelan said: “I think it’s critically important that it is open as soon as possible and I think it will allow for housing along that route and it would also stop the anti-social behaviour and illegal occupations along it.”
Later on at the meeting, district engineer Cian Madden said the council had agreed with the owner of the adjoining land to close off the gate where the illegal occupants got into the site. But “if someone really wants to do criminal damage, they probably will get in there,” he noted.
