Money allocated to fix 22 north Meath roads

A major campaign of road repairs is getting underway in north Meath following initiatives taken by Kells area councillors on Meath County Council. Twenty-two stretches of badly pot-holed roadways will be treated in rural areas throughout that part of the county and Kells councillors will meet Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar this week to drive home the message that more funding is needed in order to catch up with repairs to roads that have disintegrated over a number of years. The move has come in the wake of severe criticism of the state of north Meath roads, voiced by local area councillors. Fine Gael's Cllr John V Farrelly said it had to be accepted that Meath roads were "poorly built originally" and with the advent of bigger machinery in rural areas and an increase in heavy goods vehicles of between five and 10 per cent over the last 10 years, the problem had worsened. "To maintain our roads properly, they need to be surface dressed every seven to 10 years. Since rates were abolished by Fianna Fail, this is now every 20 years, which is a total disaster. Also, the number of outdoor staff has reduced by two-thirds, down to 85, which has also not helped the situation," he said. A full list of the 22 roads to be treated can be seen in this week's Meath Chronicle.