Mayo councillor calls for patience during Murrisk water construction works

A MAYO councillor has asked the public to be patient with traffic delays in the Murrisk area as a result of the construction of the Murrisk Water Scheme.

Work on the €8.24 million Murrisk Community Water Connection project recently began which will connect over 500 households in the Murrisk, Lecanvey and Kilsallagh region with a state-of-the-art water supply through 50 km of pipelines. The area was previously supplied with water from streams on Croagh Patrick and private wells.

The construction phase of the project is expected to take a number of months and already there has been traffic delays with the road reduced to one lane in areas.

Local councillor Christy Hyland welcomed the start of the work and encouraged motorists to be patient and give themselves extra time to cater for the traffic delays.

“Due to the construction works on the roadways traffic will be seriously disrupted and I am asking for people to have consideration for the construction workers who are carrying out this very important work for the area.

“I am asking people to allow extra time for their journeys, at least 15 minutes as traffic will be reduced to one lane at various times. These construction workers want to get the contract completed as soon as possible and get the water into over 500 homes so please drive carefully during this whole process.

“Please have patience and understanding during the disruption and cooperate with all the staff engaged on this water scheme. The more we all work together the quicker the work will be completed,” Hyland stated.

There will be lane reduction on the road between Westport and Kilsallagh which is the main road from Westport to Louisburgh and also on the minor roads.

The project was funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and a local contribution from the residents of the areas being served, along with a contribution from Uisce Éireann to upsize the trunk main so it can be used in the future to supply the Louisburgh area.

It will be delivered as a Mayo County Council Rural Water Project and when completed it will be part of Uisce Éireann’s network when work is concluded in quarter four of 2024.

Planning for the scheme has been underway since 2019 and the contracts went to tender in 2023, following its design by SDS Consultant Engineers in Castlebar.

The contractors who will carry out the work are Noel Regan Plant Hire, Ballaghaderreen who are responsible for the trunk main connection and JRPH Castlebar who are the distribution mains contractor.