Kells Road repairs will take time: engineer

The dreadful condition of roads around Kells was highlighted at last week's meeting of Kells Town Council. Cllr Sarah Reilly said the roads were in a dire condition, in particular, the road at Rockfield, which was “buckledâ€. She asked could resources be directed to getting them fixed. Cllr Bryan Reilly said he realised that it was all down to funding and that, up to now, the council's concerns with roads had been frost and ice, but now the roads were in a terrible state. He agreed that the Athboy Road at Rockfield was in a particularly bad condition. Cllr Frankie Lynch commented on the condition of the road at Gardenrath, where cars were forced to give a wide berth to avoid potholes. Cllr Conor Ferguson said they had been assured the potholes would be fixed as soon as they could be. Cllr Brian Collins said the proliferation of potholes were on roads that they had already knew needed resurfacing and roads that had been in good condition seemed to have escaped the bad weather damage. “We were told that roads weren't being done because of the motorway coming, but it is here now and the roads still aren't been done,†he said. Area engineer Shane Carroll told the meeting there had been unprecedented weather, with sub-zero temperatures never seen before. “We are only beginning to see the damage and we can expect to see it get worse over the next few weeks,†he warned. Councillors were told the town council relies on county council staff to carry out road repairs and 34 outdoor staff had to cover 1,100km of roads. Mr Carroll explained they had to prioritise higher speed roads, where the dangers from potholes were more serious. He said they would work their way through the roads, but it would take a bit of time. The engineer predicted it would be a difficult few months.