A county councillor has demanded an immediate safety audit at one of the county’s busiest bridges after a funding allocation fell well-short of what is required for repairs.
Donal Kelly, Mayor of Letterkenny, first raised the issue of Meenaroy Bridge over two years ago.
A total of €25,000 was this week allocated for remedial works at the bridge, a long way short of the €4000,000 which was expected after the bridge was previously given priority.
A clearly disappointed and annoyed Councillor Kelly told this week’s meeting of the Municipal Authority that he has been “kept in the dark” over works on the bridge.
He claimed the reality was that the bridge, used by thousands of cars and lorries each week as one of the main arteries into Letterkenny, is currently being held together by pieces of timber.
Councillor Kelly said he had personally examined the bridge and that it is rusted in parts and stated “I find it hard to believe that any inspector who visited this bridge would say that it is okay.”
April 2022: Cllr Donal Mandy Kelly and Minister Charlie McConalogue view the bridges on the Meenaroy road
Declaring the ongoing situation over the bridge debacle as “shocking” a stern Councillor Kelly said he was determined to get top the bottom of the issue until it was resolved.
He added “If this bridge was to collapse, there would be absolute mayhem if you think about the diversions and detours that would have to be put in place. It’ll be too late when the bridge collapses.”
He added that he has been digging deeper on the issue and was told that a previous redesign for an upgraded bridge was deemed unsuitable by an inspector.
Things are not sitting right with him and he now gets the feeling that his concerns were not being taken seriously, he added.
He said he will simply not sit around for three or four years waiting for a new design and another consultant to be appointed when there were perfectly fit people on the ground locally who could carry out the works.
His frustration was shared by Councillor Ciaran Brogan who supported the call and said clarification was needed.
He said a full copy of the funding application needed to be examined and that if the “ball was dropped” then it needed to be clarified who dropped it.
Councillor Gerry McMonagle said it needed to be clarified if the bridge was safe or not and wether it posed a danger to the public using it.
Senior roads engineer David McIlwine confirmed there were concerns over cracks on the bridge but stressed the bridge was considered safe to travel on.
“We will work with the bridge team and roads design to see how much remedial measures are required,” Mr McIlwaine said.
