Wexford roads in a state

By Maria PEPPER

Wednesday May 13 2009

IMPROVEMENT and maintenace work on regional and local roads in Wexford town has come to a sudden stop following a Budget reduction in the national grant allocated to Wexford Borough Council.

At the beginning of the year, the Department of Transport notified the Council it was getting a roads allocation of ? 377,000. Following the emergency Budget, that amount has been reduced to ?145,000.

'The net effect of this is that the roads progamme for 2009 is effectively finished,' the Borough Engineer Eddie Taaffe told a meeting on Monday night.

The Council has already spent the revised amount in the first four months of the year and now there is no more money left.

Funding is no longer available to resurface 'Codd's Lane' in Ferrycarrig, as planned.

The work that was carried out included the resurfacing of Ballyboggan to Park Road; resurfacing in Mansfield Drive and Talbot Green; footpath repairs in the Faythe; replacement footpaths in Common Quay Street and footpath repairs in Rowe Street, Pinewood and Whitemill Road.

'This is the worst cut since the Christmas bonus,' said Cllr. Padge Reck while Mayor Ted Howlin said it was the 'most frightening' statement he had read in a long time.