MONAGHAN LEADING THE WAY IN NEW APPROACH TO ROAD REPAIRS

Monaghan Co Council has been allocated €750,000 in 2023 to further develop a pilot initiative using reclaimed asphalt which could become a national template for the repair of roads. A comprehensive presentation on the progress of the reclaimed asphalt project in the county was given to the Co Council’s April meeting by senior roads engineer Kevin West, who come in for praise from Acting Director of Transportation Services Gareth McMahon and the elected membership for driving the initiative. Following his presentation, Cathaoirleach Sean Conlon (Sinn Féin), noting that a consultation forum had been held with Solas and the Department, asked Mr West how much of the work on the pilot scheme had been done in-house.

Mr West replied that the working group met on a monthly basis and 90% of the work was being done in-house. The Cathaoirleach said that to him this was an excellent example of how within the Co Council organisation they had the skill sets to engage in creative and innovative thinking and did not always have to go down the road of employing consultants. He thought there was a lesson in this for their organisation in saving taxpayers’ money and how they could utilise the abilities of their staff…