Machinery's getting bigger, Longford's roads are not! Bridge widening 'not practical', says Longford engineer

​A bridge that has been causing issues with operators of machinery was the subject of a motion at a recent meeting of the Granard Municipal District.

​In calling on Longford County Council for an update on the possibility of extra works being carried out on the old Clonbroney Bridge, Councillor Colin Dalton said, “I did ask the question before if there was anything that could be done. I have lots of photographs and issues with contractors getting in and out. They reckon it’s about seven inches narrower than it was originally and that there’s kerbing each side. It’s something that is causing issues.”

He added, "The residents are not happy. I have videos and photographs where there has been damage done to tractors going in. I just need an update on this because it’s not going away. It’s not a blame game, we just need to try and see can we get something sorted.”

Senior Engineer with Longford County Council, David Coppinger, explained that it would not be practical to widen the bridge.

Addressing Cllr Dalton, he said, “I’m afraid I have bad news for you. There are no plans to do anything with that bridge. It’s not possible to widen that bridge. Currently the maximum legal width of a vehicle on a road is 2.45m. The problem is that agricultural machinery is getting bigger and bigger. The roads aren’t. It’s not practical to widen this bridge.”

In response, Cllr Dalton asked, “Is there any way we can chat to the resident about this? Could the kerbing come out?”

“I don’t think they can come out but there might possibly be another way around it,” Mr Coppinger replied, adding that the matter could be raised with the road design section.

​Funded by the local democracy reporting scheme