The bridge which crosses the River Feale at Finuge, north Kerry, has shown signs of structural distress for a number of years and its condition has become critical. Last October a preliminary report by Malone, Regan, McGillicuddy concluded that the bridge deck and abutments have extensively deteriorated leading to the reduction in the load capacity. A weight restriction of 1.5 tonnes has been imposed for a number of years and the bridge has recently been physically restricted in width to 2.3 metres.
The bridge is located on the northern side of Finuge village on the L6050, about four kilometres west of Listowel. Its location is extremely strategic as it is an alternative access and exit point to Listowel from Tralee, and vice versa. A considerable amount of the housing development in Listowel is occurring on the western side and traffic from these developments, if travelling towards Tralee or south Kerry, avoids the traffic problems in Listowel by travelling the four kilometres to cross the River Feale at Finuge and joining to R557 leading to Tralee at the village, about one kilometre south of the bridge.
There is also significant development in the townlands of Killocrim, Coolagowan, Ennismore, Gortnaminch and the village of Finuge adjacent to the bridge and people use the bridge to get to Tralee and south Kerry. The alternative is to travel through Listowel which adds about ten kilometres to the journey, taking an additional 30 to 60 minutes depending on the time of year. During the tourism season it can take up to 60 minutes or more to make a round trip. This is disastrous for the ten to 15 farmers with land on both sides of the river. A diversion through Listowel would be a financial burden on these farmers in terms of time lost and so on. A number of people also draw turf over the bridge from Ennismore bog.
Two recent traffic counts indicated that about 300 vehicles cross the bridge each day, about 25% of which are light goods vehicles or agricultural machinery. In the event of the bridge closing, these vehicles would have to travel through Listowel, adding to existing traffic problems in the town. Even if the bridge was restricted to cars only, the 70 or so goods or agricultural vehicles would cause additional traffic congestion in Listowel.
The recent development of a relief road along a disused railway track skirting the northern edge of Listowel and terminating at the Listowel-Ballybunion road, west of the town, has given traffic travelling from Limerick along the N69 the option of bypassing the town by continuing west along the Greenville Road and crossing the Finuge bridge to travel to Tralee via the R557.
The Finuge bridge is one of only four bridges crossing the River Feale in County Kerry and its location and proximity to Listowel mean that it contributes significantly to reducing the volume of traffic travelling through the town and crossing the big bridge, reducing traffic congestion and tailbacks. The cost of the reinstatement of the bridge is estimated at about £500,000 and I urge the Minister to convey my request to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, to provide this funding as a matter of urgency.
