Cork traffic chaos: Works pulled following nightmare traffic jams
The road closure order had been in place for over two months until May 19, on the R613, the Church Road Carrigaline, to replace an old water main that has been causing problems.
Irish Water has had to withdraw from repair works it was carrying out at the R613 road out of Carrigaline this morning after traffic jams caused huge tailbacks.
Angry commuters were left sitting for hours in traffic, causing people to be late for work and education.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Seamus McGrath said he had confirmation at about 10.15am that Irish Water Uisce Éireann are pulling off the road and postponing the project that has caused major tailbacks for two mornings in a row.
The road closure order had been due to remain in place until May 19 on the R613, the Church Road Carrigaline, to replace an old water main that has been causing problems.
Irish Water set out to repair the problem, but there was a “total lack of consultation” with local industry and residents, said Mr McGrath.
“The road closure was only made public last week. It came as a shock to many people, including ourselves as elected representatives.
There were “horror” stories of people caught in traffic, missing work, school, and college.
"The Road Haulage Association contacted me,” said Mr McGrath.
"They have made the right decision to pull back, and I do want to thank Cork County Council and the Roads Department for their intense discussions in the last day and the last few hours to bring this about.”
Irish Water’s repairs should be carried out during the summer months, when traffic is calmer, and have a stop-go system, he said.
“But for now, the carnage we have witnessed over the last two mornings has come to an end, thankfully,” added Mr McGrath.
Independent Councillor Marcia D’Alton was stuck in traffic this morning.
"Every road in and out of Ringaskiddy, Shanbally, Carrigaline and Monkstown is down to a slow crawl this morning," she said. "Traffic is backed up everywhere. The road closure on Church Road R613 has to stop. It is impossible for everyone.
“Uisce Éireann Irish Water, this road closure on the R613 needs to be stopped.
"It is impossible for people this morning. They can’t get to work, can’t get to school. Every road is jammed. They are hours sitting in traffic.
Yesterday, Ms D’Alton said: “traffic on all roads in and out of Ringaskiddy, Carrigaline and Shannonpark this morning was horrendous. It was the first morning of the two-month closure of the R613 (Church Road) from Coolmore which meant that all traffic coming to and from Ringaskiddy had no options other than the N28.
“The reason for the road closure is that the watermains running along Church Road has broken approximately once each month for the past five years. Each time this has happened, the road has had to be closed so that it can be fixed. Irish Water is now replacing the mains.
“The road closure licence they applied for in February was granted by Cork County Council. Unfortunately, I and other councillors were not aware of the application until little over a week ago.
“At that stage, I spoke to both the Council and the contractors working on behalf of Irish Water and, although the consultation period had closed, made a formal written submission. After [yesterday's] morning's traffic debacle, I spoke to them again and the Director of Roads spoke to all Carrigaline councillors at our Council meeting.
“This first morning was always going to be difficult. That difficulty was compounded by the heavy rain and by a car accident in Carrigaline. The commitment is they will see if the traffic situation settles over the next couple of days. If it does, that's good and the work can be done as quickly as possible. But if it does not, we have little choice other than to see what can be done to make this easier for everyone."
Bus Éireann warned its customers that due to roadworks which were taking place on the R613, they were experiencing severe delays around Shanbally, Carrigaline and Carr’s Hill. Services to City Centre and Ballincollig were also affected. Routes 223, 223X, 225, 225L, 220 and 220X were being delayed by up to 1.5 hours.
The Labour Party’s Peter Horgan said it is not good enough that roadworks are causing significant traffic jams.
“A better system has to be devised,” he said.
