Complaints over ‘craters’ on Lower Kilballyowen Road

Kilballyowen resident Johnny Collins has expressed anger at the state of the Lower Kilballyowen Road near Kilbaha in West Clare.

He told The Clare Champion that “craters” have appeared in the road for a stretch of about a mile and a half and that cars have been damaged. About 10 family homes are located on the road in question along with four holiday homes.
“The council tarred the eastern side of it about five or six years ago and they left the western side of it without doing it,” Johnny Collins said.
“About a mile and a half of it is in an awful bad state. The road is sinking. What’s happening is there are lorries driving on the road and the road is sinking with the wheels of the lorry. The sides of the road are gone down. In some cases, they’re gone down about a foot and a half. They’re like craters on the road,” he added.
Johnny Collins claimed that local people had been promised, before the last General Election, that road works would be carried out but that has not happened. He also said that the road from the Bridges of Ross to Kilbaha is in an equally decrepit state.
Johnny Collins maintained that local people feel there should be little problem maintaining roads in the peninsula, given that local councillors Pat Keane and Gabriel Keating are from the area.
“People expected that when we’d have two councillors representing us here that we should have no problem getting the roads done,” Johnny Collins stated.
“Nobody was on to me in recent times about it but I will investigate and have a look at the road,” Councillor Pat Keane said, when contacted by The Clare Champion.
Councillor Gabriel Keating said that while money was scarce he would do what he could to ensure that the road is repaired as soon as possible.
“While the financial resources aren’t readily available at present, I will do all in my power to make sure that it’s included in the next programme. In the meantime, hopefully necessary repairs will be carried out. It wasn’t on the current programme of road works but it will be considered on the 2011 – 2013 programme,” he explained.