Car park in Athlone which was closed for over a year is finally reopening

A car park in the centre of Athlone which has been closed for more than a year is finally reopening.

The closure of the Strand Street car park, overlooking the River Shannon, began last October and the site was then used to facilitate tunnelling works as part of Uisce Éireann's €114 million Athlone Main Drainage Scheme.

The car park has since been resurfaced and, while it had not yet reopened as of lunchtime today (Wednesday), it was expected to be back in use either later this afternoon or tomorrow.

The reopening was welcomed by a business located next to the car park, the Beans & Leaves restaurant, which described it as "great news".

Portfolio Manager at Uisce Éireann, Eunan Canavan, also welcomed the development, saying: "The reopening of the Strand car park is another important step toward the completion of this transformative project.

"With works now more than 95% complete, the finish line is in sight. We'd like to thank the people and businesses of Athlone for their continued patience and support as we finalise the delivery of the scheme that will protect the environment, reduce the risk of flooding, and support the next generation of growth in the town."

Uisce Éireann said the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme was continuing to progress, with cross-connection works linking the existing and new sewer networks now almost complete, while the decommissioning of redundant pumping stations and sections of the existing sewer network, including combined sewer overflows into the River Shannon, was underway at various locations.

Coosan West Pumping Station has also been completed and is in operation, Uisce Éireann said, while testing and commissioning of the new terminal pumping station at Golden Island is at an advanced stage and final finishing works are underway.

The overall project, which began in 2023, is expected to conclude by the end of this year.

Described as one of the most significant projects Uisce Éireann has carried out to date, it's due to end raw sewage discharges into the River Shannon during heavy rainfall and increase the capacity of the town's sewer network to support future population growth.