Is this road in Upper Lavey the roughest in Cavan?

IF THE L7050 road just off the N3 at Upper Lavey isn’t the roughest road in the county, then it has to be in the running and Cavan roads are in a worse state than any of us realised.

This journalist had to drive the road in order to meet one of the people who has the misfortune of living along it in the townland of Lacken Clare.

To say it was a bumpy ride makes the trip sound more like a jolly when, in fact, the journey is a game of hit and miss as the nose of your car dips over humps and into potholes, then jerks back to resting position while the tail end bounces uncontrollably behind you. Forget the speed limit, no car or tractor is accelerating past 20 miles an hour on this stretch of road, not if you want to keep your shock absorbers and teeth intact.

Recently, The Anglo-Celt posed a question online and asked Cavan people to tell us about the potholes and conditions of the roads in their area.

The lady in Lacken Clare got in touch about the L7050. She does not wish to have her name published as she feels any previous representations she has made to her local councillors, Cavan County Council and her local MD have fallen on deaf ears.

A claim for €2,000 worth of damage to her 2019 car for replacement springs, shock absorbers and other undercarriage work was rejected by the county council.

She said her son’s friends can’t visit in their lowered cars because of the humps along the route to her house, farmers complain the road is not fit for tractors and one of her neighbours drives a four-mile route around New Inns and Maggie Lee’s to reach her house which is only one mile away, just to avoid the L7050.

A local community group folded during lockdowns but, neighbours are now planning to re-group to raise a petition to get the road repaired.

“A lot of tyres and wheels get damaged on our cars. It’s an ongoing issue for all of us,” the resident said. “If you got your wheels aligned for an NCT test, you have to get them re-done right before the test because the road will have knocked the alignment out.

“My husband replaced his van because of the amount of damage done to the one he was using,” she continued. “Storm Éowyn tossed a tree which lifted part of the road and that hasn’t been properly fixed.

“It really affects all of us living here but we’re still paying property tax and road tax,” she ended with.

By her recollection, the lady says the L7104 from Ballyjamesduff to the Shoemaker’s Cross was fully re-surfaced in 2021, but from where that road meets the L7050 has been “patched up” many times when residents say what is needed is complete re-surfacing.

Limited budget

The Anglo-Celt put her complaints to Cavan County Council who responded by saying: “Roads such as the L7050 have been patched numerous times to try and maintain a sealed surface, this will inevitably result in a reduced ride quality.

“When Cavan County Council receives reports of potholes, we schedule them for patch repair, but this is not a substitute for a full overlay.

“There are 960km of public roads in the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District, and unfortunately there is a limited budget for road resurfacing in the MD and the county generally, and priority must be given to those roads that carry most traffic.

“The road in question is not included in the draft programmes for 2026 and 2027 are of a similar breakdown. These are adopted in February/March each year by the elected representatives as a Reserved Function.”

Lack of funds

Local councillor Trevor Smith said he travels the L7050 road regularly and is aware of the rough road surface.

“I have highlighted the road to Cavan County Council and hoped to get it on the road works programme, but unfortunately, it’s one of many roads in my area that are not on the list due to lack of funds.”

He said just over 14 km out of 900Km of roads in the Ballyjamesduff Municipal area were repaired but added: “Our group on Cavan County Council will continue to lobby Oireachtas members seeking extra funding.”

Cllr Val Smith, said he has also received calls from residents and reiterated what his Fine Gael colleague on the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District said: “Unfortunately this road didn't make the road works programme," he said. "We will continue to lobby to get it added to the programme and in the meantime we will ask the council to keep it maintained.”

Cavan County Council provided the following list of roads which will receive a surface overlay this year:

Regional roads:

R178-7 Virginia to Ardlow Cross

R198-4 Crossdoney to Cartwrights Rock

Local Primary roads:

L2514 Corduff to Middleton Cross

L3002 Kilnaleck to Lecharry

L3026/L2502 Crosskeys to Moher

Local Secondary road:

L7082 Lismacannian