Road works for Upperchurch wind farm

Tipperary Co Council is expecting a high standard of road reinstatement on the R503 after road works complete for the Upperchurch Wind Farm development.

The matter was raised at the January meeting of Tipperary Co Council by Cllr Fiona Bonfield, who has been calling for investment on the R503 for some time. She sought an update on the situation.

Senior Executive Engineer John Nolan replied that the road works, for which a road opening licence was sought for cabling, would be starting “very soon”. A total of around 30km of road would be impacted and the quality of reinstatement is a key concern for the council.

Mr Nolan said negotiations have taken place with the developer and contractor. “We have confidence that we will get high quality,” he said.

Cllr Pamela Quirke O’Meara said three sections of the road are in “very bad repair”. She questioned who would be supervising the reinstatement work and whether it would impact on the council’s own roadworks programme.

Mr Nolan said the contractor would report directly to the council and would be responsible for quality control. The works would “dovetail” with the roadworks programme in that the council would be putting in funding of its own, he said.