Residents highlight deterioration of Carrickobrien road in Athlone

Local residents have called for action to address the poor condition of the Carrickobrien road in Athlone, saying it has been significantly damaged in recent months by trucks carrying materials for the construction of a new recreational cycleway and walkway to Ballinahown.

Work began earlier this year on the new seven-kilometre cycling and walking route from Carrickobrien to Ballinahown - which will ultimately form part of a cycleway link between Athlone and Clonmacnoise.

The cycleway project is being developed on Bord na Móna lands and the company, now officially named BnM, is due to carry out a restoration of the road surface in Carrickbrien.

However local residents this week told the Westmeath Independent that no action to address the damage on the road has been taken to date.

"The condition of the road is a disgrace," said Tom Cleary, who said it was unsafe at certain points because motorists were having to swerve to avoid the most damaged parts of the surface.

"This area is used regularly by a lot of walkers and cyclists and at the moment it's very dangerous," commented Tom, who ran in the local elections last year and narrowly missed out on a council seat.

A sign on the Carrickobrien road states that a three-tonne weight restriction is in place on the road, but local resident Tony Hartnett said this has been breached repeatedly since the cycleway project began.

"There was one lorry that was doing six loads of broken stone a day - 25 tonne a load - five days a week for about three months," said Tony. "There must have been 300 or 400 loads of broken stone brought up this road."

Tom Cleary said locals understood that a full resurfacing of the road cannot happen until after the cycleway project is completed. However he said, in the meantime, remedial work is needed on certain parts of the road to prevent vehicles from being damaged due to its present condition.

He said that he and Mr Hartnett had met with BnM representatives about a month ago to discuss the condition of the road, but that no action had been taken to date.

"They assured us that the road would be looked after," said Mr Hartnett.

We contacted BnM for comment earlier this week. In response, a spokesperson for the company said: "BnM is engaging with residents and Westmeath County Council regarding the Carrickobrien roads.

"In line with planning conditions, BnM is carrying out road condition surveys pre- and post-construction, and will conduct any repairs identified and agreed with Westmeath County Council.

"Additionally, the project team carry out inspections of the active haul route on a periodic basis throughout the project and identify and carry out repairs as required.

"General maintenance and repair of the public road network remains the responsibility of Westmeath County Council."

The spokesperson added that the Carrickobrien to Ballinahown walkway and cycleway was "progressing to schedule, with construction expected to be completed in August 2026".

The recreational cycling and walking route from Carrickobrien to Ballinahown passes through the townlands of Derries, Bunnahinly, Clonbonny, Corralena, Kilgarvan Glebe, Ballinahownwood and Ballinahown.

Meanwhile, this month's meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District heard that traffic lights are currently being installed at the junction for Carrickobrien/Clonbonny, adjacent to Diskin's Enterprise Centre.

In response to a question from Cllr Paul Hogan, the local authority said work to install traffic lights at this junction were "scheduled for installation/completion this month".