Harsh winter sees many local roads disintegrating

DRIVERS and pedestrians in Meath are having to cope with roads which are in a 'disastrous' state, according to Meath Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee, as he called for the council"s 2009 roads repair programme to be brought forward. He said that following one of the wettest summers on record and the severest winter in 30 years, road conditions had deteriorated substantially, leaving many roads in very dangerous conditions. He singled out roads 'in the entire Skryne area' as being in a very bad state, along with the N52 from Kells to Carlanstown; Kells to Ardee and the Slane-Navan Road. 'While I realise that it is impossible to repair potholes in wet weather, Meath County Council should be ready to start work as soon as there is an improvement. I get phone calls every day from constituents who are agitated about the condition of some roads and the damage to their vehicles. Prioritising the roads in the worst conditions would help improve safety for road-users,' he said. The Fine Gael deputy said that, in conjunction with Fine Gael MEPs, he was bringing forward a proposal which would see the Road Safety Authority having a greater input into overseeing aspects of road safety within counties. 'I would consider the RSA"s role as being one of a watchdog on safety aspects,' he said. He added that every county was required under the road safety strategy to have a road safety officer in place. 'This is not the position at present. We are very lucky in Meath to have Michael Finnegan as road safety officer within the county council. He is a huge asset to the county,' added the FG TD. Meanwhile, a warning that someone will be killed on the dangerous back roads around Moynalty because of their deplorable condition has been made by local residents. Calls for repairs to the roads from Westland Cross, Ballinacleva and Farnadooney to Cassidy"s Hill have come from local residents who say the roads had been destroyed by heavy traffic which used the area when Moynalty village was closed for roadworks. Cllr Bryan Reilly visited the area with council engineers last week and called on Meath County Council to carry out emergency repairs on the road. Local resident Eamonn Cahill said that the roads were in a deplorable state with huge craters causing damage to cars, trailers and vans. 'We have to do an NCT test on our cars, but there is no safety check for our roads,' he said. Mr Cahill was angry at claims by politicians that there was no money to repair the roads. 'We are sick and tired of this. When elections come around, they are always telling us what is going to happen,' he said. 'The road is disappearing into the grass verge and there is only a few places where cars can meet.' He said that a local woman in her 90s who used to go for a short walk near her home every day could no longer go out on the road because of the dreadful conditions. Mr Cahill said that the council did a 'quick job" on the roads in question eight years ago. 'The stuff they used wasn"t good enough. We need proper filling and surfacing or we will always have problems,' he said. Another local resident, John Cassidy, said the roads were full of potholes and residents cannot walk or drive on them. 'When traffic was diverted from the village, all the cars, vans and articulated lorries came this way and heavy trucks destroyed the roads,' he said. 'It is extremely dangerous and we are all afraid there will be a serious accident here,' he added. Cllr Reilly said the roads were in a deplorable condition and were practically impassable. 'The residents of these areas have been enduring these desperate conditions for the last number of months. Cars have been damaged, water and muck has been flowing into the driveways of private residences and grass verges have been destroyed by heavy traffic and the deterioration of the roads in question,' he said. 'Urgent action is needed to address these problems. I am calling on Meath County Council to look for urgent funding to carry out a complete re-surfacing of the roads in question,' he said.