Laois gets almost €18.7m for roadworks
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LAOIS will get almost €18.7m for road maintenance and repairs this year, as part of a national funding package announced today.
The county will receive €18,693m to improve road safety, with €15,447,750 going to regional roads and €3,245,341 to national routes.
The funding includes a specific grant of €700,000 for urgent resurfacing works on the R445, from the Gandon roundabout towards Ballybrittas, as well as €600,000 for pavement works on the N80 from Ballickmoyler to Coolhenry. A further €1.8m will be spent on pavement works from Stradbally to the cemetery.
The annual funding for local authorities nationwide is for regular maintenance of national, regional and local roads and is separate from major infrastructural projects in the National Development Plan. The total national roads budget announced today is €1.5bn, up 13 per cent on 2025.
The funding will cover a wide range of works that include road safety improvements, pavement renewal, maintenance of bridges and measures to help the road network withstand an increasing number of severe weather events.
Local bridges selected for rehabilitation works include Knockamullin (€125,000), Killadooley (€120,000) and Skerry near Rosenallis (€115,000).
Grants for ‘climate change adaptation and resilience works’ will go to areas that include Mountmellick’s Manor Road (€75,000) and O’Moore Street (€70,000), Castletown (€50,000) and Lea Road, Portarlington (€65,000).
Among the locations that will get funding for safety improvements are Church Street, Rathdowney (€47,500); Kilbride, Portarlington (€40,000); Ballybrophy (€37,500) and Cobbler’s Hill crossroads (€30,000).
In Portlaoise, grants include €350,000 for works at the junction of Colliers Lane and the Dublin Road, as well as €50,000 for an ‘urban connector’ route from the Borris Road to the Dublin Road. In Durrow, €100,000 has been granted for a pedestrian crossing on the N77 road.
Welcoming the announcement in Leinster House on 17 February, Laois TD Willie Aird (FG) said in a statement: “As a rural TD, I am acutely aware of the importance of having a safe and efficient road network, which enables those living in rural communities to connect to work, education and healthcare.”
