Local residents appeal for action over ‘patchwork of filled-in potholes’
It is in the townland of Bounard, Gneeveguilla, about 20km from Killarney, and is little more than a patchwork of filled-in potholes. The problem is that the fillings do not remain in place and new potholes keep appearing.
“It’s something that’s been going on for years. At this stage, local people have learned to avoid the potholes by driving round them as best they can and that can be dangerous,’’ says Tim O’Keeffe, who has a garage on the road.
“They have been filled numerous times but they come back again as bad as ever. Car springs are breaking and tyre tracking is easily put out.’’
In fact, since Mr O’Keeffe spoke to this reporter during a visit to the area last Thursday, the road’s potholes received another temporary repair by the weekend.
Zigzagging along the narrow country road, this reporter had stopped counting after reaching the 100th pothole along a 300m stretch. The worst was 3m long and about 1m across at the widest point.
Upwards of 25 local families use the road and residents are calling for a complete resurfacing, rather than Kerry County Council road crews having to come out to fill the potholes, as has been the practice.
However, the council says water flowing on to the road from private properties is a major cause of the potholes and a drainage solution is also needed.
Killarney-based Cllr John Sheahan (FG) is well familiar with the cratered L7046 and has been campaigning to get roads in his area improved.
“There’s no day I don’t get a phone call about potholes, but this road seems to need constant repairs,” he says.
“Recently, frost caused havoc and led to potholes reappearing. The frost and continuous wet weather are contributing to ongoing problems.
“You could fill potholes at the start of the week and the same road could be as bad as ever at the end of the week.”
At one time, he points out, individual council workmen had responsibility for specified miles of roads and helped to keep gullies and drains open.
However, those outdoor crews are no longer there and there is now a responsibility on property owners not to allow water from their property on to public roads.
According to Kerry County Council spokesman Padraig Corkery, the council responds to reports of potholes received by local area offices and tries to get them repaired as soon as possible.
“The huge amount of rainfall in the last 12 months has made the situation worse and our funding for road maintenance — €14m — has decreased by 15%,” he says.
“It’s vitally important to keep water off the roads and we’re asking landowners to ensure drains and gullies are clear and that they don’t allow water onto roads.
“Our national roads are quite good in this regard but the main issue remains with regional and local roads.”
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