Relief for Longford residents in Ballymahon area as upgrade set to begin

There is huge relief and some delight in the Ballymahon area that critical upgrade works to replace over 5.4km of aged water mains with new pipes will finally begin next Monday after years of disruption.

A contractor, Ward and Burke Construction Ltd was appointed in June to carry out the multi-million euro water main upgrade from Carrickboy to Ballymahon to replace a porous pipe that frequently bursts, impacting over 6,000 residents and business owners.

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Local people in the Ballymahon, Legan, Abbeyshrule, Carrickedmond, Forgney and Ardagh areas have been left frustrated and dismayed due to ongoing bursts and loss of water.

Uisce Éireann said the work will help to secure the town's water supply, reduce high levels of leakage and support much needed growth in the area.

Paschal Lyons, who runs a pub, post office and a shop in Ardagh is very pleased to see some progress.

"I'm very happy to see it starting and it's fantastic that it's getting off the ground. It's critical really for our area.

"I'm just very happy that it's moving ahead, it's good news."

Ed McGoey, the owner of the award winning Rustic Inn bar and restaurant in Abbeyshrule, was forced to endure frequent water outages and disruption to his business in recent years and he is pleased there may be some certainty ahead.

"It's a huge relief because of the constant disruption.

"It's been a constant source of frustration," he added.

Local Fianna Fáil Cllr Pat O'Toole said local people are relieved and mainly positive that the long overdue work is finally commencing.

Cllr O'Toole said householders and business owners had suffered serious disruption for a long time and he is fully aware of this as he has been personally impacted.

"That stretch of road and the 5.4km of new piping, that should eliminate a lot of the issues.

"I suppose for maybe four or five months now there will obviously be roadworks on the N55 and excavation works.

"But the council have already worked on that with Irish Water, and I think there is a good plan in place in terms of what way traffic will be detoured and so on."

“But, the end result will justify the means, I think that is the big proposition.

"I was speaking to some people recently and what most of them are saying is, 'Well, at long last' and that is the type of reaction we are getting."

Local Fine Gael Councillor Paul Ross previously described the water main stretch as being the 'worst in the country' for outages. He said there will be a significant road closure at some point between Doory and Ballymahan but people are encouraged by recent developments.

"The road is very narrow and the road will need to be closed, but look, that's just part of the process.

"It's being done as quickly as possible but we have to welcome this news because, you know, it's just totally unacceptable, as we said before, to have all these bursts on such a regular basis disrupting people's lives every single week.

"It is great news to finally get it over the line."

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Ardagh householder Cathy Lynch, a married mother of two, said while affected businesses and communities in the wider Ballymahon area “warmly welcome the commencement of this much‑ needed water mains replacement project” there has been a long wait.

“It must be acknowledged that both the scale of investment and its arrival are long overdue.

“For six years, residents and businesses in Ballymahon, Carrickedmond, Ardagh, Edgeworthstown and surrounding areas have endured frequent pipe bursts and interruptions to their water supply—reaching crisis point in recent months.”