Ballykeeran residents' anger at road problems caused by ongoing sewerage works

Ballykeeran residents and business owners have expressed deep frustration over ongoing road problems caused by the construction of the Glasson, Ballykeeran, Coosan Sewerage Scheme. Work on installing the scheme has been taking place since March and residents said the Ballykeeran to Glasson low road (L1459) has been left in a deplorable condition with dirt and potholes as a result. In addition, access to Glasson from the north end of the road has been cut off to vehicles and pedestrians, forcing local residents to take a detour via the high road if they wish to get to the village. "Horrendous is the only way to describe it," said Ann Meade of the Harbour House B&B. "There are times when I've felt like lying down on the road at the Dog and Duck pub and saying (to the contractor) 'you're not getting in here!'" Ann said her B&B business has been hit by the works. "I've had some of my own family say to me that they won't be calling to visit again until after the works are completed. If our own people are having such trouble with it, what chance would someone visiting from overseas have?" The road surfacing problems and access issues have arisen as a result of the 7 kilometres of pipes being laid for the scheme - many of which are being installed directly under existing roads. The project, which is being completed by a contractor on behalf of Westmeath County Council, was initially due to be finished by late August, but its completion date has since been pushed back until the first quarter of next year. "We know this work has to be done but it's the way they're doing it that's the problem," another local resident told the Westmeath Independent. "My car, and the cars of my neighbours, are in bits because of the road. If they did a bit of work and tidied up as they went along it would be something. But everything has been left unfinished," said the local resident. Tony Chatterton of Portaneena Marina said his customers had encountered problems with "detours and lumps and bumps on the road," and he also said there had been insufficient communication between locals and those carrying out the work. He added that he had heard some resurfacing work would be carried out on the road today (Wednesday). Athlone Mayor Cllr Mark Cooney described the condition of the road as "appalling." "If you lived on that road you would never wash your car because in one journey it would be destroyed again. Residents and businesses were very accommodating when this project started and I can understand their frustration particularly given the state the road is in at the moment. Something has to be done and, I hope, will be done." Cllr Cooney said access to Glasson from the Ballykeeran low road would continue to be an issue in the lead-up to Christmas. While the overall completion date for the sewerage scheme was the first quarter of 2010, he hoped the road problems in Ballykeeran would be resolved in advance of that date. Morgan Cox of Westmeath County Council's water services department said the council regretted the disruption being caused to residents. He said the project's progress had been delayed as a result of weather conditions and other difficulties, but that it was the council's intention to have the project installed successfully at this time so that it wouldn't have to be revisited in the coming years. Attempts by the Westmeath Independent to contact the resident engineer on site were unsuccessful at the time of going to press.