No quick fix for Cootehill’s Station Road woes

It’ll be next year at least before Station Road in Cootehill is resurfaced.

A funding application for much-needed works on the busy route is expected to be submitted later this year.

It’s regularly highlighted as a road in desperate need of resurfacing and repairs, particularly due to the volume of traffic using it.

The issue was raised again at the June meeting of the Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District when Cllr Aiden Fitzpatrick (FF) requested an update.

Senior Engineer Alan Lyons said an application under the Active Travel Scheme was expected to be submitted in the coming months. However, if successful, the funding would only go towards the design of the scheme.

The Active Travel Scheme aims to promote walking and cycling to encourage exercise and reduce traffic. The scheme in Cootehill would see the introduction of cycle lanes and other improvements, as well as the resurfacing of the road.

However, Mr Lyons said a lot of planning work needs to be carried out before the design process can begin: “We hope to have funding this year for the design. There’s data collection, analysis, options etc that need to be carried out.”

He admitted that progress could be slow on the project, particularly as councils face difficulties in securing consultancy firms to carry out the planning and design process of other projects: “There’s a huge problem getting consultants. It’s not just Cavan, it’s affecting other local authorities too. There’s a lot of pressure.”

Cllr Carmel Brady (FG) backed the call for progress, saying the road is “coloured all the colours of the rainbow” due to paint used to highlight potholes. She said something needs to be done to improve the situation for residents and users of the route.

East-West Link

Station Road forms part of the long discussed East-West Link, which would run from Cavan to Dundalk.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan says a report, following a risk-based analysis looking at carrying out some upgrades to improve safety on the route, is still awaited.

The response, to a question from local TD Niamh Smyth (FF), mirrors that given in April when Minister Ryan said the report was “expected shortly”.

Little progress has taken place on the project despite regular calls. It’s understood upgrades could be carried out on certain points between Cavan and Dundlak to improve safety, rather than a full upgrade of the whole route.

“In light of subsequent appraisal work that pointed to a very substantial cost if the full route were to be upgraded, the Department engaged with Cavan County Council in relation to carrying out a risk-based analysis for the east-west route between Dundalk and Cavan which involves exploring the possibility of a series of interventions which might improve the safety of the route, improve journey times and bring consistency to the travel speed along the route,” said Minister Ryan.

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