Almost €18 million for road projects and bridge works across Kilkenny
The allocation is ‘welcome’ but ‘not sufficient’, says one Kilkenny councillor
Just under €18 million has been allocated to Kilkenny County Council from the Department of Transport for local road projects.
The Department has also published the details of some of the specific roads and areas where the money is planned to be used, with 49 specific allocations listed.
Funding allocations for road safety improvement works were highest for areas including Clogh (€50,000), Kells (€40,000), Goresbridge (€40,000) and Kilmacow (€40,000).
There are also 12 bridges across the county identified for rehabilitation works including Metal Bridge in Muckalee (€50,000), Lavistown Bridge on the Sion Road (€30,000) and Kings River Bridge in Callan (€30,000).
Under climate change and resilience works, funding has been allocated to help address flooding issues on Lord Edward Street in Kilkenny City (€35,000), Station Road in Thomastown (€41,450) and more than 15 other locations.
Specific grants have also been allocated for road rehabilitation on the R712 Kilkenny to Paulstown road (€400,000), for works at Ferrymountgarrett Bridge (€150,000) and for traffic analysis at the Butts Green junctions in Kilkenny City (€75,000).
Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick was amongst the local elected representatives welcoming the announcement, but also stressed that even more funding is needed.
“I don’t believe it’s sufficient to cover the scale of works required across the county,” he said.
“We also urgently require more Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) and Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) funding here in Kilkenny to clear the huge backlog of works necessary on the county’s smaller rural roads and laneways.”
Below is the full category breakdown of where the funding is to be spent across County Kilkenny:
Restoration Improvement - €9,705,000
Restoration Maintenance - €1,327,000
Supplementary Restoration Maintenance - €1,161,500
Discretionary Grant - €2,619,000
Bridge Rehabilitation - €360,000
Specific Imp. Grant - €225,000
Safety Improvement Works - €353,500
PSCI: Survey Support - €25,000
Training Grant - €66,500
Drainage Works - €587,000
Former National Roads - €400,000
Speed Limits (Housing Area Signage) - €11,940
Speed Limits (Rural Speed Limit Signage) - €6,900
Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Works - €506,600
Community Involvement Scheme - €440,100
Deputy John McGuinness described the funding as a 'massive investment into local and regional roads in Kilkenny and also for the numerous bridge upgrade works throughout the county'.