Quarry lorries 'eating away' Laois road

A narrow road that serves a big Laois quarry is being damaged because there are not enough spaces for the vehicles to pass each other, a councillor has claimed.

Cllr Padraig Fleming, Fianna Fáil, highlighted the issue at a recent meeting in County Hall Portlaoise where he was supported by Cllr Aisling Moran who called for a new road to be built for truck use.

He tabled a motion calling on Laois County Council to examine the roads in the Ballyadams/Ballintubbert area and to put in passing bays as there are a lot of heavy goods vehicles/cars meeting with little room to pass and the edges of roads are being worn away.

“The road is being eaten away,” he said.

Philip McVeigh, Senior Executive Engineer, replied in writing.

“Laois County Council has inspected the roads in the Ballyadams/Ballintubbert area and identified suitable locations for passing bays to be installed. These works will be carried out in the coming months,” he said.

Cllr Fleming welcomed this reply.

Cllr Aisling Moran, Independent, supported her colleague but said the quarry operator had committed to installing passing bays. She added that the company had promised to use alternative routes.

“The only fair thing for the community is to have a new road from the quarry to the main road.

“The roads are being absolutely destroyed. The lorries are sometimes wider than the road…all the verges have gone down,” he said.

Cllr Moran said a designated road is used in Carlow at a landfill by trucks.

Cllr Fleming said the quarry operator has already installed most of the passing bays it agreed to last year.

The issue was raised at the March meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District.