Galway’s roads are gone to pot

Galway County Council has been hit with a deluge of complaints about potholes right across the county’s roads.

The local authority was inundated with grievances about damaged cars and near-miss collisions over a twelve-month period due to the poor state of repair of roads along the network.

Correspondence totalling 533 complaints received by the County Council in the year to the end of September 2018, was released to the Connacht Tribune under Freedom of Information (FOI).

The emails give details of incidents of burst tyres and damaged vehicles as a result of potholed roads, as well as more serious incidents in which motorists claim potholes put their lives at risk, and warn of possible fatalities if the roads aren’t fixed.

But that only tells some of the story because other methods of complaint, such as written letters, or complaints made in person or by telephone, are not contained in the material released.

The emailed complaints highlight how the problem of poor roads affects every corner of the county – from Milltown to Inis Mór, Ros a Mhíl to Kilcolgan, Peterswell to Recess, Craughwell to Glenamaddy.

In some cases, motorists are looking for compensation, others are just alerting the Council to the problem and/or pleading for the potholes to be filled or safety measures implemented.

The “disgraceful state of disrepair” on Knocknamanagh, Craughwell, which was a “hazard to motorists, cyclists and all other road users” was among the complaints.

One motorist, who was out of pocket to the tune of €90 due to a burst tyre, said: “Nobody expects to find two potholes in the middle of the N17 Tuam to Milltown Road.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.