Brackenstown Road reconstruction moves to next stage
The reconstruction of the Brackenstown Road (L2030) in Swords has moved to the next phase as part of ongoing road strengthening works being carried out by Fingal County Council.
The road subsided in 2022 which presented a safety issue in that it if were to subside further, there was a danger that it could cause vehicles to overturn and fall down the steep embankment into the Ward River Valley below, with obvious serious consequences.
Temporary Traffic Lights were put in place in order to keep traffic away from the edge and to slow the speed of traffic, thus mitigating this risk pending structural repairs to the road and embankment.
Works to reconstruct the initial area of collapse were successfully completed in July of this year. In carrying out these works, a further 60m of road was identified by our Consulting Engineers as being at risk of similar subsidence in the future.
It was considered prudent and expedient to extend the original scope of works rather than opening the road only to have to close it again in the future.
Following the CIF “Builders’ Holidays” in August, the contractor has now returned to undertake site clearance in preparation for the next stage of reconstruction which is due to start imminently.
One crucial part of the works will be the provision of a Vehicle Restraint System (VRS) in the form of a crash barrier to extend the entire 100m length of the repaired section. This is to mitigate the risk of an errant vehicle falling down the steep drop into the Ward River Valley below. This VRS cannot be installed until all other works are completed which means finishing the road strengthening of the embankment and re-surfacing the roadway.
Because of this, temporary traffic lights will have to remain in place to mitigate this interim risk. We anticipate that the works will be on-going until December and whilst any inconvenience caused by the temporary traffic lights is to be regretted, the safety of the public continues to be our priority.