Road closed after landslide

A MOUNTAIN road between Cork and Kerry will be closed for at least a week because of damage caused by a thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon.

Kerry County Council road engineers were yesterday assessing the damage to a section of the Kilgarvan/ Bantry road, which left a deep crater in its wake.

Early estimates put the cost of repair work at around €100,000.

“The road is totally impassable. Due to the terrain, the work will be slow, but should be completed in about a week,” said senior executive engineer Paul Neary.

The two-hour thunderstorm resulted in the collapse of a 20-metre section just beyond the first tunnel, at Inchinanagh, about six miles from Kilgarvan.

A culvert, unable to take the volume of water from the hillside, was washed away, leaving a hole of about 70 ft by 70 ft.

A new culvert and retaining wall must now be built and materials were being sourced yesterday.

There were also four or five minor landslides, depositing tonnes of soil, stones and other rubble on stretches of the road.

Local woman Hannah Kersey said people heard what sounded like thunder and one man, who asked not to be named, claimed it was like “the end of the world”.

“We’re a mile-and-a-half from the scene, but some of our neighbours said they heard an awful bang. There was a fierce gush of water, very powerful. People got a fright,” Ms Kersey said.

“We’ll have to take detours for a couple of weeks until the road is reopened, but we’re happy no one was injured.”

Deputy Jackie Healy- Rae, from nearby Kilgarvan, called for attempts to be made to make tourists using the route aware of the closure.

Flooding missed houses in valleys on either side of the road.