Dunancory Bridge at Virginia to be widened in May

Residents in the Virginia area and motorists further afield will be delighted with the news the road at Dunancory Bridge is to be widened in 2020 with works starting in the summer.
Tenders are to be advertised early in the new year with a view to engaging a contractor to carry out works, which will culminate in the bridge being widened to a capacity of 12 meters, featuring two lanes.

The news was confirmed at the December Ballyjamesduff Municipal District meeting in the week before Christmas in the Shantully Inn.
Other enhancement works planned at the site include footpaths and public lighting on what is a busy regional road. The junction leading towards Oldcastle will also be enhanced and the footpath will also be extended to the housing estate and the existing railings will be replaced by masonry featuring stone.

Orla Malone, executive engineer, speaking at the meeting said: “We have got agreement from the Department of Transport to proceed with tendering for a contractor to do the works. We have not yet received the allocation. We are positive that the money will be coming to us in 2020.”
She revealed that the bridge will be treated as a protected structure and, when complete, will be similar to the Virginia bridge. "There will be three lanterns on either side of the bridge and the public lighting will be extended out towards the Oldcastle direction,” added Ms Malone.
Landowners affected have agreed to the works proposed.

Ms Malone further explained of the process: “We have done a hydraulic analysis report on the flow capacity and that has passed the criteria in terms of the bridge widening. There were concerns about upstream flooding. A topographical assessment was done both up-stream and downstream and we have taken into account global warming. The conclusion was that widening this bridge won’t affect the flow of the river.”
In response to the MD chair, Winston Bennett, the engineer clarified that the bed level of the river at that location will not be changing.
Cllr T.P. O'Reilly welcomed the news, saying the works had been on the agenda for a long number of years. 
Ms Malone said, in terms of timescale, it's hoped workers will be on the ground by the end of May, 2020.
“We will be able to keep the traffic flowing as a result of the type of construction works were are doing. There will not be any traffic diversion during the main construction work,” she said.

 

Cloggy Bridge
Meanwhile, when Cllr Bennett asked about the status of the Cloggy Bridge, Ms Malone explained: “We had some environmental issues and we could not get into it this year. We have got funding for it and it is one of the first bridges we are doing in May, 2020.”

Derrylea Bridge
Cllr Trevor Smith also raised the matter of necessary repairs to the Derrylea Bridge and the engineer confirmed that there was a proposal in respect of this bridge with the Department of Transport. "It is another busy regional road and there have been material accidents there. We have applied to widen that bridge,” she said.
“It is not as high up in the list as we would like with the Department. Other schemes have been prioritised in other counties, but it is one we are pushing hard. We have got agreement from the landowner to take whatever land we need. It is a money issue,” added Ms Malone.