Building of key Athlone road now due to start 'early in 2024'

The construction of a major new link road in urban Athlone is expected to commence early in the new year and be completed before the end of 2024.

That was the update on the Brawny to Garrycastle link road project which was given to councillors at the annual budget meeting of Westmeath County Council last week.

The road, which will create a new route from the Ballymahon Road to Garrycastle, is being put in place as the first step in the development of the 576 new homes approved for the Lissywollen area, adjacent to the existing Brawny housing.

In late October the council said it was hoping to see work starting on the road "in the coming weeks," but at the budget meeting its director of services Barry Kehoe said it would now be the new year before construction commences.

"It will be on site in the early part of 2024, and will be completed in 2024 to facilitate that housing development and general transport in the town," said Mr Kehoe.

The 576-unit Lissywollen development was granted planning permission in June 2021, and is due to be developed in phases over a number of years. It will include 174 social housing units which are to be purchased by the council from the developer at a cost likely to exceed €54 million.

Jackie Finney, acting director of services for housing at Westmeath County Council, said advancing the Lissywollen project was a priority for the council.

"We are engaging with the Department and with the developer in relation to it," Ms Finney told the meeting.

The project, on a site of some 16 hectares, is to be developed by Garrycastle Homes Ltd, trading as Alanna Homes.

Updates were also provided at the meeting in respect of other significant roads projects in the Athlone area.

"The N55 upgrade, north of Athlone, is moving on," said Mr Kehoe. "We hope to get a funding allocation in 2024 to progress the work on first section, which is a bypass of Ballykeeran and will tie in somewhere between Ballykeeran and Glasson. That's our plan for 2024 on that scheme."

He said the planned Cornamaddy to Coosan link road "will be largely developer-driven and developer-built, under planning applications that have been granted recently and in the last year or two.

"Again, we'd hope to see the next section of that road built probably in the early part of 2024, and there's another part that we hope will be built as part of another housing development, near The Bounty, next year as well," he said.

Cllr Paul Hogan asked for an update on road-raising in Carrickbrien, Athlone, in response to flooding issues experienced there over the years.

"We continue to work on raising roads in Golden Island, Carrickobrien, and other areas. One or two of those are significant enough schemes. We'll be doing design on them and we hope to get an allocation in 2024 to continue that work," replied Mr Kehoe.

He was also asked about addressing longstanding drainage issues which have frequently led to flooding along Retreat Road in times of heavy rainfall.

"There's a requirement for a new surface water sewer from Retreat down to St Mel's, and down the St Mel's culvert then into the River Al and onto the Shannon," stated Mr Kehoe.

"It's a project that wasn't progressed as part of the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme, but it's one we hope to do in conjunction with Uisce Eireann because, as well as carrying away that surface water, this new sewer will take the pressure off the combined system and remove water from the treatment plant, pumping station and so on.

"It is a project that we intend to progress probably next year and running into 2025," he said.