CORRIN TOLL

Council ‘has not taken up Direct Route offer’

With recent weather events resulting in the closure of Kent Bridge in Fermoy on Wednesday, traffic was diverted via the toll-paying M8, with motorists expressing their annoyance that the tolls at the Corrin interchange were not opened in this time of crisis.

Major delays were reported across Fermoy town and at the junctions to the M8, with reports of motorists having to wait up to 35 minutes in places, with many complaining at having to pay the toll fee when Fermoy was impassable.

However, a spokesperson for Direct Route said they had engaged with ‘the local council’ in January of 2016 after a previous flooding event in the town and requested the council to discuss and agree a full management plan for such events, but said that to date, the council had not taken up their offer.

According to local councillor Noel McCarthy, the toll was ‘ unmanned’ on Wednesday morning, leading to delays of up to 35 minutes from the square to the Corrin interchange, with similar delays on the other side near Circle K.

Local residents also highlighted that it was ‘ disgraceful’ that they were still being charged at the toll even when the bridge was closed. “It’s €1.90 each time, they shouldn’t be charging when there’s a flood and we can’t get over the bridge,” one resident said.

A commuter working in Fermoy noted that while major delays were being experienced at about 8.30am Wednesday morning, with Gardaí on the scene, no charges were incurred at the toll and the barriers were opened by this point.

Cllr McCarthy went on to note that high traffic volumes and serious delays in the area would have meant that if there was an emergency, emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks may not have been able to pass.

“Waits of 35 minutes to reach the toll on the bypass are not acceptable, especially in the event of an emergency. Clearly, a proper contingency plan must be put in place before the next flooding event.

“There needs to be a traffic management plan agreed upon between Cork County Council, An Garda Siochana and Direct Route. I will be bringing this issue up at the next meeting of Fermoy Municipal Authority as a matter of urgency,” Cllr McCarthy said.

NO CONTACT

Declan Cahill, CEO of Direct Route responded to queries on the matter put forward by The Avondhu stating that there were no ‘major delays’ as a result of the Fermoy toll not opening on Wednesday morning.

“Cork County Council decided to erect the flood barriers resulting in the closure of the town, forcing road users to use an alternative route. One of these alternatives is the M8. We were not contacted by Fermoy Council of this closure and as you are aware, the toll is always accessible.

“As soon as we became aware of the situation, we deployed extra staff to the Corrin toll stations to deal with the additional traffic. There could have been a short period of time between becoming aware of the town closure and deploying staff on site, but with the assistance of the gardai dealing with the additional traffic flows coming from the different locations, this went in an orderly manner,” Mr Cahill said.

According to Mr Cahill. Direct Route engaged with the local council in January of 2016 after a previous flooding event in the town and requested the council to discuss and agree a full management plan for such events.

“To date, the council have not taken up this offer. We are, as always willing to work with the council to develop appropriate management plans for such events going forward,” Mr Cahill added.

‘KICK IN THE TEETH’

Local community activist, Tadhg O’Donovan, speaking to The Avondhu, said that it was “a kick in the teeth for those working in essential or frontline services” who were forced to take the toll route due to the closure of Kent Bridge, being charged a fee to make their way to work.

By 12.30 on Wednesday, pedestrian access had been re-opened on Kent Bridge and for the most part, traffic had died down, and while delays remained due to the road closure, wait times had lessened.

“We need to set up a traffic management committee, we need something in place to ensure that this problem will not happen again,” Cllr McCarthy added.