By Andy Spearman
A lifetime ago in a newspaper office in Drogheda the newsroom staff used to have a competition for which councillor could come up with the best pothole story.
“Pothole of the Parish” we called it and Councillor Frank Godfrey often won the honours for pointing at large craters in the roadways. Half a century later billions of European money has been spent on motorways but many of our back roads are as bad as they ever were.
One such road is the twisty Greenhills to Newtown Road, the surface of which in parts resembles the aftermath of an explosion. Many’s the car must have had the exhaust or the shock absorbers rattled off it over the years. As for cyclists without shock absorbers, certain parts of their anatomy have been rattled almost to the point of castration.
Six or seven weeks ago I cycled out that road and was stopped by road works. “Fantastic” I thought as I asked the man that flagged me down what was the extent of the work being carried out.
It turned out they were only repairing the surface of the road on a bridge over a little stream while less than 100 paces away was the road from hell which I’m certain won the “Pothole of the Parish” award at one occasion at least all those years ago.
Like the Councillors of old, Drogheda Rural Independent Councillor Declan Power is up in arms about it. “I can’t understand why this section of the road, considering its current state, that is not road worthy has not been repaired” he said.
“I have raised this growing concern at numerous Borough Council meetings, and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.” He added that he been reassured a few months ago that the Councill would repair this stretch of road but nothing has been done.
“This road can be extremely busy with many rural residents from Clogherhead, Termonfeckin and Sandpit using this to get to the quays” he fumed. “Many others use it to get to work in the Boyne Business Park or to do a school drop off at Our Lady’s at Greenhills.”
“This road has continued to deteriorate with severe potholes that are causing damage to vehicle wheels, tyres, and shocks.
“It is unfair that rural roads are allowed to reach this condition, and the public won’t tolerate it. Those who live in a rural setting have a fundamental right to have these roads maintained. It is also difficult to conduct business in the Boyne Business Park if the road network is not up to scratch.”
I have written to Louth County Council once again to implement an immediate action plan before this section of the road disappears completely, and if the adjacent new housing development is a problem, maybe they should be responsible for the re-surfacing work.” Said Cllr. Power.
