Laois community urges council to push button on bridge overhaul

Laois County Council is being urged to push the button on a tender process to recruit contractors for the upgrade of the Woodenbridge near Ballacolla not that funding is in place to do the work.

The appeal is made as local people welcomed a grant of €100,000 for the bridge which the community campaign not to have replaced with a concrete structure.

Michael G Phelan was among those to mount a campaign in Woodenbridge after it emerged that the the mainly wooden and steel structure was about to be replaced with a concrete bridge. The council had said that the building was not able to take the loads using the bridge. 

However, on foot of residents' concerns, the council went back to the drawing board on the bridge which traverses the River Erkina. This led to a solution published in May 2022 to refurbish the bridge using steel and wood.

Mr Phelan welcomed the funding as 'great news' that would guarantee the bridge would not be changed to concrete.

"The goal was achieved. We didn't want to lose the bridge because of its unique heritage value. It is the only wooden bridge that is still carrying traffic.

"This announcement is great news for the Woodenbridge. It now ensures that this historic bridge will be brought up to the standard required while also retaining the heritage value of the existing bridge structure.

"We would like to thank the public representative who attended the Save The Woodenbridge Rally in March 2022 for their work in securing this funding along with Simon Walton Director of Services LCC and Edmond Kenny Area Engineering for their support," he said.

Restrictions have been in place since 2021 on traffic that can use the bridge. Mr Phelan now hopes the project can advance.

"We were waiting on funding and that has come through. The next phase is a tendering process," he said.

Mr Phelan said Laois Minister Seán Fleming is set to meet with the council's CEO John Mulholland shortly where he hoped the project could be advanced.

"We'd be urging the council to get on with the works," he said.

He also believe a second nearby bridge should be fixed.

"We have also asked that the second bridge at this site would also be taken into consideration for upgrade as it has proven to be a traffic hazard over the years," he said.

Laois getting €13.6 million for road and bridge repairs and flood prevention

The bridge is among the Laois projects to benefit from the 2023 Bridge Rehabilitation Works under the €13.5 million for Laois in the annual funding scheme for the maintenance and repair of local roads and bridges.