Poor weather causing ‘extraordinary’ pothole problem for north Tipperary

The rising number of potholes on roads around north Tipperary were described as an “extraordinary” at the March meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District.

Speaking on the unprecedented issue of potholes on the roads, District Senior Engineer Barry Murphy described the problem as “massive” and highlighted that the recent heavy rainfall has been difficult to contend with.

“Opening inlets and taking water off the roads has to be a priority,” he said.

He went on to say that there are have been “thousands” of potholes in the district and the Council have received “hundreds” of complaints from motorists over the course of the winter months.

The issue was initially raised by Cllr Phyll Bugler and she called for more “manpower” to be rolled out to try and cover more ground in addressing the problem.

Those words were supported by Cllr Joe Hannigan who expressed his belief that “climate conditions are challenging right now,” and suggested that additional funding should be allocated to tackle the problem.

He remarked on the futility in filling potholes in the recent poor weather, saying, “ Lads are fixing potholes on the roads, knowing full well that they will have to be done again two weeks later.”

Cllr Seamus Morris also weighed in on the discussion and remarked that the Council are reacting to the problem in January and February instead of being proactive in the months of October and November, and that there was a need to look at the amount of staff currently insitu and whether it was sufficient to keep the roads in a satisfactory state.

Borrisokane was one of the worst town roads in the District going back years, and Cllr Michael O’Meara referenced the huge work that went into improving the road quality in the town where a massive sum of €6 million was needed to solve the problem.

District Senior Engineer Murphy acknowledged the challenges but also noted that maintenance of National roads in the District were not in the remit of the Council and that they were under the jurisdiction of the TII and they are responsible for carrying out works to those roads.