Flooded road could be closed
Flooding at Lough Reane has caused access issues for 18 families and a number of agricultural land owners.
Leitrim County Council is considering closing a roadway which has been the focus of ongoing flooding due to health and safety concerns.
Senior Engineer, Shay O’Connor said that the Council may have to consider closing the road near Lough Reane in Fenagh if it is found to be too dangerous for residents to continue using.
The road has been the subject of ongoing flooding and Council staff have raised the level of the road on a number of occasions in the past few months in a bid to ensure access for 18 homeowners and local landowners. It is now the subject of a feasibility study.
Cllr Caillian Ellis called on the Council to seek immediate action to alleviate the flooding and to put in place safety barriers on the newly raised roadway. Cllr Ellis said that not only were residents impacted but farmers in the area were left unable to use 90% of their land near the lake and faced penalties with farm payments as a result.
He added that there were also serious safety concerns because the level of the new road had left a substantial drop into six feet of water.
Senior Engineer, Shay O’Connor, said that there was a certain process to go through in order to put a solution in place for the flooding. He said that the Council needed to complete the feasibility study and then had to seek full planning permission and additional funding to carry out any solutions and that this would also include consultation with environmental groups, Waterways Ireland, the OPW and other stakeholders.
“The Office of Public Works representatives were quite shocked when they came out to the site last week. I think they have a better appreciation of the enormity of the problem now.” He said the Council would inspect the road in the coming days and look at the possibility of installing safety barriers.“This would be difficult however as the water comes right up against the road,” he said. “We may have to consider closing this road if the situation is that dangerous.”
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Weather for Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland
Sunday 26 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South west
