‘The mind boggles’ – Closure of new €7m Louth road criticised

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

A Louth councillor criticised the closure of Mount Avenue in Dundalk, a major route in the town which had only been opened last year following a €7 million investment

Cllr. Sean Kelly, who is also Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, told the September meeting of Dundalk Municipal District that he was disappointed at the road being closed again for further work.

"The mind actually boggles as to how this has come about as we are just after spending €7million and we closed that road for the better part of a year.”

He said Mount Avenue was reopened “not even a year ago” and it has now been closed off for a number of weeks “to be dug up again.”

He called for better lines of communication with public utility companies, to ensure there is co-ordination on upcoming works in order to avoid delays.

"There is nothing more irritating, not only for residents, but for people who are trying to use that road to get in and out of town.”

"It just seems to be a complete and utter waste of public money for it to be dug up again.”

John O’Hagan, Senior Engineer at Louth County Council said a “defect” was the reason behind the road being closed again.

He added that the contractor would be covering the costs of the additional works.