Meeting to be chaired by Irish Water due to concerns over Kilmeague/Allenwood road closure
A meeting will be held next Wednesday evening by Irish Water in relation to the replacing of an ageing water mains between Kilmeague and Allenwood.
The water service provider are planning to carry out works on the water line, which could result in the closure of a 4km stretch of road for up to six months, causing serious disruptions to locals. Understandably, there are plenty of people in the area who have raised concerns over the road closure.
A statement issued by utilities company Ervia outlined that the €1.1 million investment will replace 3.5km of the ageing water main that was laid in 1978 and is prone to bursting up to five times per year.
According to their statement, each time the water main bursts the water supply to nearly 4,000 people is interrupted causing disruption to homes and businesses in the community.
A drop in meeting will take place at Ballyteague GAA club on Wednesday 28 March from 4-8pm.
According to Ervia, the new water main will reduced leakage on the network, reduce disruption to customers resulting from frequent bursts, reduce liabilities resulting from flood damage to properties caused by unplanned bursts, improve the security of the water supply for customers as the replacement works will bring a more reliable supply to residents and businesses in the area and reduced operational and maintenance costs that result when frequent bursts have to be repaired.
The statement concluded;
"After reviewing all options it was concluded that work will require the closure of the R415 for approximately three months. Central to this decision is that the road is too narrow to carry out the work without the road closure for health and safety reasons and the closure will enable the work to be carried out within a shorter time frame.
"To reduce the impact on the community the road will re-open each evening and remain open on weekends. Local access for residents and businesses will be maintained throughout the duration of the works. Irish Water has proposed a detour route along the R403 and R409 which is the shortest route available that is suitable for the volume of HGV’s using this route."