Macroom man says Co Council is still repairing same pothole – 60 years on

A MACROOM resident is calling for urgent resurfacing works to be carried out on the approach road into Macroom, with one pothole on the main street present for half a century.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Gerard Quinn said the road coming into Macroom from Hartnett’s Cross into the town, which is now known as the R618, is an ‘absolute disgrace’ and pointed out that the road was forgotten about long before the bypass was ever built.

‘There’s a particular pothole right outside Twomey’s Butchers on Main Street that has been there since I was going to national school and I’m 60 years old! That will tell you how long they have been messing around with it,’ said Gerard.

‘Back in the 70s there used to be an old mill at that location and a guy would come and throw dust on the tarmac to stop it from being dragged around the street. The Council are still repairing that same pothole.’ Gerard even took photos of the road and has made several complaints to Cork County Council but feels he has got nowhere with them.

‘Other than the fact that this road is wrecking cars, it’s also just an appalling sight coming into Macroom. To me it just demonstrates neglect and a lack of political desire to improve it and the town deserves better.’

He also said that with so much emphasis being made on road safety, he feels repairing this road is a genuine road safety issue.

‘You have drivers crossing over on the carriageway to avoid some of these potholes and accidents are bound to happen as it’s such a dangerous stretch. I think we become immune to driving conditions and the whole topic is being pushed onto the driver when road conditions are simply not good enough.’

While he has welcomed public realm investment works for Macroom town centre, he points out there is no money for road remedial works.

‘You have all these nice areas but then around these areas it just doesn’t look the part or inviting, especially when one drives into the town. We deserve more, and with the bypass in place it makes the challenge of bringing people into the town centre even more challenging.’

He praised Macroom Tidy Towns who he said are doing the ‘heavy lifting’ and as a voluntary organisation are doing a lot of work to spruce up the town and keep it clean. Last week Cork County Council said that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) had given a commitment to carrying out resurfacing in the town of Macroom once the N22 by-pass was complete. ‘The section of former N22 from Hartnett’s Cross into the bottom of the town is due to be resurfaced in Q3 (third quarter) of this year, subject to final approval from TII.’