Cork to see €6m spent on resurfacing city roads over six months

The drainage provisions within the contract are noteworthy given that tidal flooding within Cork City centre has routinely disrupted traffic in recent years at times of extreme weather, particularly on low-lying quays. File Picture: Larry Cummins

More than €6m is to be spent resurfacing parts of more than 40 of Cork City's roads over six months this year.

Cork City Council has tendered for a six-month contract for the relaying of approximately 106,000m² worth of regional and local roads with a uniform surface.

The 43 routes affected include Ballinlough Rd, Curraheen Rd, Glanmire Village, the North Ring Rd, Nicholas St, and South Main St.

The resurfacing contract will also include the “improvement of road drainage where required” and the installation of traffic calming ramps and other ancillary works.

Utility covers on the various roads will also be repositioned, while all road markings are to be replaced on each of the passageways.

The drainage provisions within the contract are noteworthy given that tidal flooding within Cork City centre has routinely disrupted traffic in recent years at times of extreme weather, particularly on low-lying quays.

Roads quality in the county has been a consistent bugbear for the two local authorities in recent times, with Cork City Council’s chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan describing a lack of funding for road upkeep in the region as “incomprehensible” in comparison to the budget afforded to Limerick’s local authorities last March.

Department funding

Cork has the biggest network of roads of any county in the country, but the Government allocated just €6,000/km to the council in 2024 — compared with Kildare, which was provided €11,000/km. Limerick,  meanwhile, was funded to the tune of €10,000/km.

Green city councillor Oliver Moran noted that the resurfacing contract is being expensed against Department of Transport funding, which is “quite regular”, yet “there isn’t equivalent Department of Transport funding for footpaths” in Cork City.

“Something councillors in Cork have been calling for is the loosening of grants to allow funding be used for the maintenance of footpaths on an equal level to roadways,” Mr Moran said.

"There is an irony that, with such a focus on encouraging active travel, the system of funding is still geared to prioritise motor traffic. Footpaths could be crumbling on either side, but the carriageway will be glistening,” he said.

“It's an example of the level of unpicking that has to be done on a whole system of funding and priorities that's been built up over decades," Mr Moran added.