THE TOTAL COST of repairs to Donegal’s roads infrastructure in the wake of last month’s catastrophic flooding will be around €15.3 million, according to Donegal County Council.
The vast majority of this money – €13.45 million – will go towards the repair of roads in Inishowen, which was worst hit by the flooding.
In total, 59 homes have registered as being displaced by floods. The council said that “solutions” had been found for 31 families thus far.
While a total of 600 issues had been identified on the 1,500km road network in Inishowen, the council is currently working on priority regional routes to reopen them as soon as possible.
It is expected that the R244 at Craignahorna on the mountain road between Buncrana and Cardonagh will not reopen for another four weeks.
The R240 at Riverside between Quigley’s Point and Carndonagh is now open to single lane traffic, while the R238 at Three Trees between Muff and Quigley’s Point has now reopened to two-way traffic.
For those families affected, many of the solutions found have involved the arrangement of alternative accommodation.
“A number of cases do not require action at this time and the council continues to work with all displaced households on a case-by-case basis to address their housing needs,” Donegal County Council said.
Furthermore, 115 bridges have suffered flood damage and a quarter of them may need to be replaced.
It may take six to 12 months to arrange permanent replacements, the council said.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, local councillor Martin McDermott said: “A lot of people have just realised the extent of the damage that some people have. There are a lot of main roads that have to be reopened. It’ll be another month to six weeks before they are.
As for the families who’ve been forced out of their homes, it could be till Christmas before they get back into them.
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