asked the Minister for the Environment if he is aware of the road works of various kinds carried out by various public agencies on the stretch of road in Dublin at Ranelagh Village from the triangle to the old Sandford Cinema; and if he will state: (1) the number of agencies involved, (2) the time each agency started and completed their work on the road surface and (3) if he can give a clear indication as to when this road work will be completed and the road surface and the footpath put back in proper order; if he is further aware of the present dangerous state of the footpath and roads; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Dublin Road Works.
154.
I have been informed by Dublin Corporation that the section of road referred to in the question has been affected by the operations of certain local authority services and of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
The corporation's sewers and main drainage section carried out the reconstruction of the main sewer from November 1977 to September 1978, following which the paving department carried out temporary reinstatement works from November 1978 to December 1978.
It was necessary for the corporation waterworks section to lay a watermain from Milltown Road to Ranelagh and this work, which also involved connections to individual premises, was carried out from early October 1979 to the end of July 1980.
The Department of Posts and Telegraphs have been working on underground installations in the area since early August 1980 and have recently applied to the corporation for a way-leave from Sallymount Avenue to the old railway bridge at Ranelagh. On completion of that Department's operations the corporation's roads section will complete the resurfacing of the road and footpaths.
I understand that prior to carrying out any major works on roads, it is the practice of the corporation's roads section to consult with the statutory undertakers and the other corporation services, with a view to getting the maximum co-operation for the orderly accommodation of the various public utility services in the construction of new roads or the improvement of existing roads. However, difficulties can and do arise from time to time due, for example, to the complexity of the work involved, delays in the supply of materials and co-incidental emergencies such as fractured mains or cables, which could not be foreseen in preparing the initial programme of works.