Residents in the College Road area of Castleisland got notices this Saturday morning of a ‘Full Road Closure’ for the area from Monday, August 19th to Friday 23rd.
This is the result of the Irish Water replacement of rusted supply pipes from the old library to Kilbanivane.
The replacement of the pipes and links to the houses along the route has left its mark on the road there and resurfacing work is due to begin by McSweeney Brothers from Monday.
The notice received by the residents this morning read as follows:
To All Residents – Update on Traffic Management – Road Closure.
McSweeney Bros Contracts Ltd are carrying out surfacing work on behalf of Kerry County Council on College Road, Castleisland.
Full Road Closure will be in place from August 19th until August 23rd to facilitate these works as the entire road surface is being removed to a depth of 300mm and being replaced with a new surface. Traffic/pedestrian management systems will be in place.
Please take care when exiting your property.
The footpaths will be cordoned off from the road with barriers. There will not be any crossing points within the work zone.
Please be aware that when you leave your property enclosed within the barriers will be a construction site.
Please be aware that vehicular access to your property will not be possible for the duration of the works.
It would be appreciated if you could find alternative parking to enable the works to proceed without interruption.
Needless to Say…
Needless to say the notice – and maybe its lack of notice – took many people in the area by surprise. Cllr. Charlie Farrelly – whose constituency office is in the old library overlooking the College Road – was busily taking calls there this morning.
“An advert was run on Radio Kerry this morning about the closure and people got this notice in their doors at the last minute.
Busy Tourist Season
“The management at Crag Cave, one of the busiest tourism attractions in the county, only found out about the road closure by accident as they didn’t get one of the notices,” said Cllr. Farrelly.
As this morning turned to afternoon the story took on another turn – according to Cllr. Farrelly.
Council Knew Nothing
“I got onto Kerry County Council senior management for this area and they pointed out that they knew nothing about the radio advert and the notices to residents and they certainly didn’t know anything about a ‘full road closure’ on College Road next week.
“Furthermore they ruled out any possibility that the road here will be closed completely, stating that one side will be kept open with all the safety measures in place at all times.
Disruption to Traffic
“Of course there will be disruption to traffic on the road for the week but the thought that the road was to be closed completely was what got the people in the area up in arms.
“The good news is that the water is running clean and clear trough the new supply pipes and after this week’s work things can return to normal and on time before the schools re-open after the summer holidays,” Cllr. Farrelly concluded.
