Offaly gets large funding boost to tackle bog roads problem

The deep layer of peat that lies beneath much of the road infrastructure in Offaly has been very problematic over the years because it leads to the road surfaces rapidly subsiding and deteriorating.

Local councillors have been arguing for years that digging down to the bedrock (or another, suitably unyielding, material) would save money in the long run because roads built on the surface beneath the peat would entail far less upkeep.

During the March monthly meeting of Birr Municipal District Area Engineer John Mitchell told the six councillors on the Council the good news that the government has given €800,000 towards a Peat Pilot Project in Offaly to “significantly improve our peat roads.”

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Mr Mitchell pointed out that the Council is continuously going back to these roads “much more than we would like. Now we hope to fix them, fix the source of the problem, and not need to go back for 15 to 20 years. We hope to do one or two areas using this tranche of funding. It is only tackling a very small part of the bog road network, about a kilometre, and a lot more funding will be needed, but it is a start.

“The excavations,” he said, “would not necessarily need go to bedrock but would need to go to the bottom of the peat layer underlying the road. Most of our roads are built on clays, silts or gravels and there is no issue with these subgrade types as a road foundation.”

Cllr Eamon Dooley said he would like to see the €800,000 going to West Offaly because it's needed there, and he hoped the funding won't be siphoned off by Tullamore or Athlone or anywhere else.

Cllr John Carroll said some of the €800,000 should go towards an 800 metre section of the Birr / Kinnitty road. "We have spent a lot of money on that section of the Birr / Kinnitty road and it still requires work much more frequently than it should."

“Four years ago,” said Cllr John Leahy, “we told the Department that 30% of our roads are built on peat foundations, and about half of that 30% is located in West Offaly. We need ten times €800,000 but at least it's something; it's a start.

“Years ago we tackled the once bad road between Cloghan and Ferbane. That road is fantastic now and hasn't been a problem since. Cutting down to a layer beneath the peat is expensive but it means you don't have to spend money each year on running repairs to the roads.”

The Area Engineer and the councillors went through some of the headline projects in the municipal district in 2022.

Mr Mitchell revealed the good news that there has been an 8% increase in 2022 for the road strengthening programme
“Our surface dressing programme is also up, by 4%. Using the funding granted for 2022 we will do 30 kilometres of road strengthening and 35km of surface dressing of the Regional and Local road network in Birr Municipal District.”
He warned however that the Council is seeing “ a big impact because of the rising cost of materials for our road works, including bitumen emulsion (which is an oil derivative) and stone.”

He added that the tender prices are increasing as well; adding that the tender prices are “ordinarily decided by how many kilometres of road we do.”

Some of the road works in 2022 include:
Surface dressing will happen at 880 metres of the R445 in the Clonmacnoise area.
Surface reconstruction will happen on 150 metres of Harbour Road in Banagher and 200 metres of Hill Street in Banagher.
There will also be surface reconstruction at the R437 in Lumcloon (500 metres) and the R357 in Clonony (500 metres); and 300 metres of the R357 in Shannonbridge.
Road reconstruction will take place over a distance of 500 metres on the L3003-1 in the Fivealley area.

Mr Mitchell outlined some of the maintenance work which will take place in Council Estates in the District during 2022, drawing on funding of €30,000. This will include:

In Mooney Terrace Kilcormac estate signage is being introduced to "prevent dumping at back lane way." There will also be repair to the speed ramp at the entrance to the estate and repair to fencing at the back lane.
This year trees will also be planted along the wall of Cluain Alain / Cluain Rynagh in Banagher; children at play signage will be erected in McAuley Drive, Birr; and there will be a clean up of moss on footpaths, cul de sac, estate name and children at play signage at Kylebeg Banagher.
The Irish spelling on the name stone will be corrected in the Ballincur estate. Footpath repair at Cuba Avenue Banagher will take place.
In Frankford Drive Dunkerrin there will be repairs to the pathway which is cracked.
There will be estate enhancement at Millbrook Park and Croghan Road - paint and flowers will be purchased through the housing section.

The councillors pointed out that the CIS and LIS schemes are very important.

The Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) is a joint venture approach between the Council and local communities, for the purpose of carrying out maintenance and improvement works on suitable Regional and Local Roads.

The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is an opportunity for communities to have road repair work carried out at a relatively modest cost on roads not in the charge of the Council.

One of the Birr MD councillors told Mr Mitchell that it was good to hear about the 8% increase for road upkeep “but we are living in a time of huge inflation and we are being hit from all angles."

Cllr John Clendennen said he believes the roads in the District are, in general, “in a pretty good condition.”

He said the CIS scheme should have a 50% increase in funding not the 50% decrease which is happening this year. "The scheme has made a big impact, especially in agricultural areas.”

He added: “We need to get a handle on the problem of HGVs and large vehicles travelling on unsuitable roads because of sat navs. Their GPS systems are leading them onto small roads which are just not suitable.”

Cllr Eamon Dooley said it was a pity that the funding for the CIS had reduced by 50% this year. “This is an excellent scheme which we have got excellent value out of. It allows local communities to tackle necessary works on less trafficked roads, thus allowing local authorities to fund a more diverse range of local roads, maintaining local connectivity and contributing to local community enterprise.”

Cllr John Carroll pointed out that Birr Municipal District is a very large area ”and therefore we are only able to tackle a small number of the roads. As always some people will be happy because their roads are being done and others won't be happy because we can't get around to their roads.”

“I feel sorry for our area engineers and our council executive, because inflation is making their task more difficult,” remarked Cllr Leahy, adding, “There are is a lot of footpath problems in Kilcormac which have to be dealt with. I'll be harping on about that for the rest of the year.”

Cllr Peter Ormond said the rising price of tender prices and construction materials is a worry. He said road contractors are very busy at present. He hoped that rising inflation will not impact on the Council's ability to fulfil its roads programme in 2022.

He pointed out that roads get a lot of damage during the winter months because of "heavy falls of rain followed by heavy frost." He said the best time to do the road works is May to September.

John Mitchell said the CIS funding had been reduced to the normal annual amount which the Council receives and last year's extra 50% had been a one-off. "We have used the funding wisely and have done better than expected with it," he remarked.