End of year finish for Athlone Garda Station revamp
Photo: Pictured in July 2019, when the first phase of the Athlone Garda Station redevelopment was completed, involving an extension and complete refurbishment of the former social protection building, adjacent to the existing Garda station building on Barrack Street, were Senator Gabrielle McFadden, Superintendent Aidan Minnock, Cllr John Dolan, Edel Collins OPW, Cllr Jamie Moran, Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran and Elaine Hannah, architect.
It's expected that the redevelopment of Athlone Garda Station will be completed towards the end of 2020, the OPW has confirmed.
At the end of July last year the first phase of the €8m plus project which involved an extension and complete refurbishment of the former social welfare building, adjacent to the existing Garda station building on Barrack Street, was completed and the then Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran was given a tour of the facilities. At that stage, it was thought the project would be almost entirely completed in a year's time, a timeframe that cannot be met now due in part to the Covid-19 crisis and its impacts on construction sites.
Phase two of the project is concentrated on the redevelopment of the old barracks building, thought to date back to the 1930s, to bring it up to modern standards. It was vacated by officers on completion of the upgrade of the old social welfare premises last summer.
A new link building will ultimately connect the two premises, meaning that when the project is complete Athlone's Garda Station will have more than doubled in size.
The barracks site was closed from March 30 until May 18 due to the Covid-19 restrictions which meant work on non-essential construction projects stopped.
“To minimise the impact of the site closure, ongoing engagement and collaboration took place between the design team and the main contractor during this time,” an OPW statement pointed out.
Works to the existing station, new custody block and new link building are currently progressing, in line with health and safety protocols in place by the main contractor on the site, Sligo-based firm Kilcawley Construction, including the requirement for social distancing.
The potential impact of Covid-19 safety protocols on the works is being closely monitored by the OPW and the impact will be directly proportionate with the public health requirements, it added.
Cooperation meetings between OPW and the main contractor continue to take place in order to monitor and manage the ongoing effects of Covid-19 on the project construction.
“The total cost and programme impact of Covid-19 cannot be determined at this point and will be closely monitored by OPW. It is anticipated that redevelopment works to Athlone Garda Station will be completed towards the end of 2020,” the OPW statement ended.
Contracts for the work were signed by then Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran in the station in late April of 2018, with the original plan centred around a two-year timeframe for delivery of a state-of-the-art barracks.