CONCERNS have been raised over the condition of a section of the N67 in Ennistymon, with councillors calling for a full resurfacing of the road between the old convent and council offices in the town.
The issue was raised by Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) at the July meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, where he said he had been contacted by farmers concerned about the condition of the route.
Cllr Slattery said farmers travelling through the area with tractors and trailers had experienced difficulties due to the condition of the road, with uneven surfaces, manholes and gullies creating problems.
He said those carrying loads such as fertiliser were sometimes checking their trailers after completing the journey to see if anything had fallen off due to the state of the road.
Cllr Slattery said the section, which runs from the former convent in Ennistymon to the junction with the N85 near the council offices, had been in poor condition for the past two or three years.
While acknowledging that repairs to individual defects had taken place, he said a full resurfacing was needed.
“I don’t think a patch job is going to do here,” he said.
Seconding the motion, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) said there were “two ridges” near the school where storm culverts crossed beneath the road, along with several other damaged sections along the route.
He highlighted issues near Malone’s Garage, Griffin’s Pub and outside Blake’s Corner, where he said a sinkhole had remained in the road since last December.
Cllr Talty said manholes, storm drains and culverts along the route had repeatedly sunk and required repairs.
Senior Executive Engineer Tony Neville said the council had secured funding through the TII defects scheme, which would address the majority of existing defects but would not cover a full overlay of the road.
He said the section would continue to be monitored and that Clare County Council would continue to engage with Transport Infrastructure Ireland regarding the condition of the route.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) said he believed some of the issues were linked to indentations developing in the upper layers of the road surface, adding that national routes such as this carried significant traffic.
Mr Neville said TII carried out annual surveys of the national road network and that the concerns raised by councillors would be brought to the agency’s attention.
–Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
