Councils to share €500,000 road fund

Clare and Galway county councils will have to share an overall fund of €500,000 for the repair of roads damaged during the construction of the Gort/Crusheen bypass, it emerged this week.
Acting director of services for transportation, planning and land use, Nora Kaye has revealed that Galway County Council paid €33,056.87 to Clare County Council last year for resurfacing works done on the Crusheen to Ruan road and drainage works on the Crusheen to Tubber road.
Ms Kaye told county councillors at a local authority meeting on Monday that a fund of €500,000 was available from the National Roads Authority (NRA) but would have to be shared by Clare and Galway county councils.
She confirmed that Clare County Council is currently compiling a list of roads that were damaged for the NRA and assured councillors they would be seeking funding for them.
The update on payments that Clare County Council received from Galway County Council as the lead agency for the Gort/Crusheen bypass to restore local roads and haul roads damaged during the course of construction was provided following a motion from Councillor Joe Arkins.
Councillor Arkins complained that a lot of damage had been caused to the Crusheen/Tubber road and other link roads attached to the bypass.
“It is important that Clare County Council will get its fair share of money to compensate for the damage to local roads in North Clare. I am concerned that Galway County Council may get a bigger slice of the cake and we may only get the crumbs from the table. Clare County Council needs to get an adequate allocation to restore damaged roads in North Clare,” he said.
He was supported by Councillor Michael Kelly, who stressed it was vital that Clare County Council get its full share of the discretionary fund allocated for the restoration of roads damaged during the bypass works.
“I have met the senior area engineer and the senior executive engineer in the council to make this case. Local people in these areas have experienced enormous inconveniences during these works and the least they are entitled to is the restoration of a proper road surface. I have been assured that this will happen,” he added.