'Giant potholes cover half the road' - say residents in Kildare community
Residents in the Rathmore area of east Co Kildare have called for urgent action from Kildare Co Council to repair 'giant' potholes which they claim cover half the road and are up to 6 inches deep in places.
Rathmore, which was hit heavily by snow drifts during the Beast from the East in early March, is located close to the Co Wicklow border and the N81 route.
Residents made a formal request to the Council on March 26th for them to provide a long-term solution to the poor road conditions close to Our Lady of Mercy Church, Pipershall, Co Kildare.
TD James Lawless has also lodged a request with the Council and has been supporting the campaign together with Cllrs Fintan Brett and Anne Breen.
Both Councillors are set to put in motions for this month's Municipal District meeting seeking emergency funding to repair the road.
Niall Sargent, spokesperson for the Rathmore-Red Bog Community Group, said: "As long-time residents of the Rathmore and Red Bog area of Co Kildare, we are well aware of the lack of maintenance of the road between Red Bog and Crosschapel.
"However, the present state of the road is worse than ever before, and has deteriorated significantly since January 2018 following years of Council inaction to find a long-term solution by repaving the road.
"As the Council is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of our roads, and is responsible for ensuring high levels of road safety, we hereby wish to lodge a formal request to the Council.
"We are requesting that the Council takes immediate action to fill in the potholes, followed by genuine long-lasting maintenance work to repave the roads as a matter of priority.
Giant potholes
"Many drivers coming from the adjacent N81 are unfamiliar with the road, and do not slow down on approach to the potholes. This runs the risk of damaging their own vehicles or those of others passing in the opposite direction."
"The lives of pedestrians walking the road are also put in danger as cars swerve to avoid the potholes, forcing road walkers into the ditch in order to avoid any potential accident.
Various residents from our group have raised the issue with Kildare County Council for years, and have lodged numerous informal and formal complaints with the Council since January 2018 in relation to the current state of the road."
Locals have called for the road to be re-paved as simply repairing the pot-holes won't be effective due to the high level of traffic coming from the N81 as well as HGV traffic coming from a nearby quarry.