GALLERY

PICTURES - Laois road is so damaged council repair van ends up in open drain

Michelle Hogan

Reporter:

Michelle Hogan

Two cars have ended up stuck in a drain on the side of a rural Laois road in the last week, one of them was a Laois County Council repair van.

The local authority van was involved in filling in potholes on Cloncosney Lane, an area off the Ridge Road between Mountmellick and Portlaoise when it became stuck in the steep open drain.

In a separate incident, another car ended up in the drain just days before the road repair. Many of the families on the road have young children who they cannot let play in the front of their houses due to the deep open drains.

Cloncosney Lane resident, Rory McEvoy, told the Leinster Express that the road has been problematic for a number of years and while the local authority regularly fills the potholes, it needs to be resurfaced.

“Between the bad winter weather and the increased traffic on the road the condition of the road has worsened.

“Laois County Council is filling the potholes in fairness but it is only a temporary repair. It badly needs resurfacing and the drain needs to be filled and piped. It is very dangerous with young kids now living on the road including my own 2 and 5 years old who we can’t let outside our gate,” he said.

The pictures in the gallery above sent in by Mr McEvoy show the badly damaged road before and after Laois County Council carried out remedial works this week.