Two days of 'absolute upheaval' as roadworks in Limerick village bring traffic to standstill

TWO DAYS of recent roadworks in Adare caused what councillors described as “absolute upheaval”, bringing the village and surrounding areas to a near standstill and forcing heavy volumes of traffic onto unsuitable back roads.

At the monthly meeting of the Adare-Rathkeale Municipal District, Cllr Adam Teskey questioned why the works could not have been carried out at night to minimise disruption. “They caused major delays," he said, noting that the simultaneous closure of the Babis Road only intensified the chaos.”

Responding to councillors, Senior Executive Engineer Kevin Murphy explained the nature of the works required hot asphalt, which cannot be sourced at night when quarries are closed. He said this limitation made overnight works “not really possible”, a point acknowledged by members who stressed their overall support for maintaining the road network.

Read More: REVEALED: Location details for new playground in Limerick community

Cllr John O’Donoghue said he was inundated with calls from distressed residents over the two-day period. “Adare was held up completely,” he said. “We already have massive problems with traffic coming in and out of the village. Could these works not wait until the bypass opens?” He added that councillors were hopeful the long-awaited bypass would be completed well in advance of the Ryder Cup.

He urged the council to ensure the public is fully informed in future. “Adare is a nightmare when it comes to traffic. It backs onto the motorway and the Killarney road, causing huge safety issues. He warned that sat-nav systems redirecting motorists down narrow roads created dangerous conditions, especially when large vehicles are pushed onto local roads they should never be on.” 

“How we avoided a major crash, I’ll never know,” he said, again calling for night-time or postponed works “to at least give motorists some hope”.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme