A councillor has accused Kerry County Council management of never prioritising works on the ‘antiquated horse and carriage’ Listry bridge between Aghadoe and Milltown.
There were heated scenes at this week’s full council meeting when councillors learned money meant for the R563 at Listry bridge had been used on other projects.
Cllr Brendan Cronin made the accusation, after he asked why only €21,025 of €495,000 allocated for works on Listry Bridge had been spent since 2019.
It emerged last year that the Department of Transportation had assigned €495,000 to repair or build a new bridge, when former Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin raised the issue in the Dáil.
Cllr Cronin says it would be fair if the public assumed the council didn’t really care.
He said he has been raising the problems at Listry the bridge for 25 years, and that he is seriously annoyed.
He claimed the bridge was built for horse-and-carriage traffic and is not suitable today.
Fine Gael councillor Tommy Griffin seconded Cllr Cronin’s motion and asked if the money allocated had been lost by the project.
Director of Roads & Transportation at the council, Frank Hartnett didn’t accept that this was news to Cllr Cronin, who he said was updated at the Killarney MD meeting every two months.
He also rejected that the council was not committed to the project.
Mr Hartnett explained that only money already spent on a project can be claimed.
He said any money that is not spent is reallocated to other projects, and is not trapped in a bank account.
He also said a consultant has been hired for the next phase of the project, and that he is expecting a report in the near future.
Management also told the meeting, they are moving ahead with plans to install a pilot traffic light system to control traffic on the bridge, as a temporary solution.
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Kerry County Council management gave their timeline of the project.
2019
They said a Specific Improvement Grant was allocated for the Listry bridge project in 2019.
The council submitted a Preliminary Appraisal Report to the Department of Transport, outlining various options to address the issues on the R563 at Listry bridge, including a new structure at Listry Bridge.
2020
In 2020, the department asked for additional information regarding the project.
Council management told Cllr. Cronin that in-house engineers prepared the required information so no expenditure was charged to the project.
At that stage, the pandemic drew the local authority’s attention elsewhere.
2022
In 2022, environmental screening, assessing the potential environmental impacts of the project and determining the appropriate statutory process, was completed.
This was also done in-house, by the council’s environmental team, so again there was no direct expenditure on the project.
2023
In 2023, Kerry County Council sought bids for engineering and environmental consultancy services to move the project forward, from the planning stage through detailed design, environmental assessment, and obtaining the necessary approvals.
However, they did not receive any tenders.
2024
The council has since re-evaluated the project.
2025
Together with the Department of Transport, they are moving ahead plans to install a pilot traffic light system to control traffic on the bridge, as a temporary solution.
Additionally, Kerry County Council says it is hiring engineering and environmental consultancy services to work on the project.
The consultants will follow Phase 1 of the Project Management and Appraisal Guidelines to identify the problem and develop practical solutions.
