Clane-Maynooth Municipal District Meeting, Friday, 3 November 2023
Councillor Pádraig McEvoy
Motion:
That the council assess the L1021 road from Prosperous to Staplestown Cross for structural and surface repairs and funding, including calls under Climate Action schemes.
Report:
The Municipal District Engineer will assess this road and make an application for funding in 2024 from the Department of Transport.
Issued by: Mr. M McLoughlin, A/Senior Executive Officer, Transport, Mobility and Open Spaces.
Debate
Warmer, drier weather, contrasting with wetter periods and the occasional colder spells, further destabilises the foundations of bog roads. The subsoils shift with the water table rising and falling. This issue is particularly evident for bog roads at Ballinafagh, Derrycrib, Drehid and Lullymore in the Clane Local Electoral Area.
The L1021 Prosperous-Stablestown Road, which crosses the Ballinafagh bog, has legacy industrial-scale peat extraction on each side of the route. Deep drains are cut into the raised bog to lower the water table and dry the top layers for peatland harvesting. The drainage can impact the nearby road foundations but also emits carbon dioxide, a significant contributor to climate change.
In light of industrial peat harvesting, the general public might reasonably question the sustainability of using public funds sourced from climate adaptation funds to restore a floating bog road, especially when peat extraction is a key problem driver. The engineering solutions of pile driving for longer-term stability are very expensive and typically unavailable for local roads with low traffic levels.
Notwithstanding the dependence on the Climate Adaption Funds, it needs to be a priority for 2024.
Information
Google map [link]
Minutes
CM10/1123 [link]
L1021 road from Prosperous to Staplestown Cross
The members considered the following motion in the name of Councillor McEvoy.
That the council assess the L1021 road from Prosperous to Staplestown Cross for structural and surface repairs and funding, including calls under Climate Action schemes.
The motion was proposed by Councillor McEvoy and seconded by Councillor Wyse.
A report was received from Transport, Mobility and Open Spaces informing the members that the Municipal District Engineer will assess this road and make an application for funding in 2024 from the Department of Transport.
The members raised the following:
Dry summers and wet winters were having a dreadful effect on this road.
Similar to the bog road in Lullymore, it deteriorates rapidly.
This needed to be a priority next year.
The District Engineer advised:
Climate Action funding would be announced next week.
This was complex as there were two private bogs on either side of this road, where one was being drained and the other flooded, so the section of the road could deteriorate quite quickly.
There was an application made to the Department for funding, and we are awaiting the outcome of this.
If funding is not received, Restoration Improvement funding would need to be examined.
Resolved on the proposal of Councillor McEvoy, seconded by Councillor Wyse and agreed by the members that the report be noted.
Update
Kildare County Council's Public Consultation and decision on the proposed road closure for the road repairs in summer 2024 [link]
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