Red alert over green vegetation on bridge

THE amount of green vegetation on the historical crossing between Ballina and Killaloe has been raised by county councillors on both sides of the bridge.
Clare and North Tipperary county councillors agreed at a recent joint meeting of the Newport and Killaloe Electoral Area that urgent action needs to be taken to safeguard the integrity of the bridge, which carries huge volumes of traffic on a daily basis.
However, councillors couldn’t reach a consensus on the best method of fast-tracking the completion of this project, which has already been discussed at previous joint meetings.
Following a lengthy discussion, it was decided the scale and extent of the work needs to be identified, an estimate for the amount of funding provided and decision made on whether or not an application should be made by a community or jointly by the two local authorities.
Work costing an estimated €100,000 was originally scheduled to take place in the spring of 2008. However, the possible presence of water bats and other conservation measures could have resulted in the proposed cleaning project costing more than the original estimate.
Wary of the projected escalation in costs, county councillors in Clare and North Tipperary decided in 2008 to wait until an expert report was completed on what exactly needs to be done to remove the vegetation before it got the go-ahead.
Councillors were told by local authority engineers at the time that the more preliminary examination done on the project, the larger it became due to the need to safeguard its status as a historical and protected monument.
The Department of Transport’s road inspector also confirmed this project wouldn’t qualify for any funding under the EU co-financing scheme.
Committee chairman Councillor Johnathan Meaney from North Tipperary expressed concern at a recent meeting that the need to remove vegetation from Killaloe bridge had been highlighted at a number of joint meetings.
Acknowledging that funding is an issue, Councillor Meaney said it is important the two local authorities take a lead role.
Clare County Councillor Pascal Fizgerald agreed the two local authorities should play a central role in the project and stressed the sooner this work is carried out the better. 
Clare County Council senior executive officer, Michael McNamara, told councillors no source of funding had been identified since the last meeting. If funding became available, Mr McNamara pointed out the scale of what needs to be done could be identified.
Councillor John Carroll stressed that either Clare or North Tipperary County Council should act as the lead authority with co-operation and support from the neighbouring authority.
He also asked that the two authorities examine the need for improving the pointing and plaster work on the bridge.
Councillor Fitzgerald asked if the bridge would be cleaned before the expected influx of tourists for the major Brian Boru Millennium celebrations in 2014 and queried if the bridge would have to be closed to traffic during the proposed cleaning and improvement works.
However, North Tipperary area engineer, Michael Hayes proposed works could be carried out using scaffolding from a barge, subject to approval from the National Roads Authority (NRA).
The possibility of obtaining LEADER funding or an application being made for funding by Killaloe or Ballina Tidy Towns Committees was also discussed at the meeting.
Councillor Michael Begley queried that if a community group were to make a successful application for funding, who would run the project and would the council still have an overseeing role for managing the work?
Councillor Joe Cooney proposed a sub-committee could be established with representatives from the two local authorities, such as councillors and engineers, and community leaders and said it makes sense to try and secure LEADER funding.
However, Councillor Cathal Crowe opposed the proposed use of a community group to secure funding. Stating the bridge is effectively a regional crossing, he stressed it is an important piece of local infrastructure.
“If the two county councils can’t provide the necessary funding, it needs to go to the Department of Transport. The bridge is old and a new safety survey is needed as well as an inspection. I think community groups like the Brian Boru Commemoration Committee would like to secure money from LEADER to run their own festival.”
However, Councillor Pat Burke disagreed with Councillor Crowe and felt the council “shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth” if LEADER could provide funding, considering the difficulty securing any major Government funding at present.
Councillors were told a survey was completed on the bridge a few years ago, which revealed there wasn’t any concern about structural weaknesses. However, it was also pointed out if the vegetation is allowed to grow unhindered, it could result in long-term damage to the bridge structure.