Ballykeeran Low Road to close for three months

allykeeran residents and businesses affected by ongoing delays to a local sewerage project now face a new hurdle as the Low Road (L-1459) from Glasson to Ballykeeran is to close for three months. Both it and the Garnafailagh Road (from Cornamagh Road to Bullet Road) will be closed from February 29 to May 31 to facilitate the laying of pipes for the Glasson, Ballykeeran, Coosan sewerage scheme. This project has been plagued by setbacks since it began almost three years ago. The council and its contractor for the work recently became embroiled in a dispute over aspects of the project which the local authority was unhappy with. The dispute went to a conciliation hearing that lasted for two days in December and work is now commencing. However the work will cause more headaches for local residents with one Ballykeeran man saying he feared his boating business would suffer a 60-70% decline in trade during the scheduled closure of the Low Road in March, April and May. "It's very frustrating because we've already had the road closed for two and a half years," said Blair Chatterton, who operates the Portaneena Marina and also chairs the Ballykeeran residents' association. "The boating or sailing season starts to get going from St Patrick's Day onwards and we depend a lot on passing trade. There is still local access (to the Low Road) but if the 'Road Closed' signs are up that's all people will see." He commented on the lack of communication between the council and local residents, saying that "nobody knew" about the upcoming road closure before the council advertised it in the Westmeath Independent recently. Mr Chatterton also expressed concern over the possibility of yet more delays affecting this project. "We're told that this (road closure) is going to be for three months, but will it actually turn out to be for six months or eight months? We just don't know," he said.