After 7 Years Neglect, Funds Are Located For 1200m Stretch Of Thurles Rd.

It has taken 7 years for the state agency known as Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to locate funding for a 1200 metres stretch of the busiest section of roadway in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Despite two Teachtaí Dála (Dáil Deputies), namely Mr Michael Lowry and Mr Jackie Cahill, latter both with constituency offices in Thurles town; combined with the mission statement by TII claiming, quote: “Our mission is to provide high quality transport infrastructure and services, delivering a better quality of life and supporting economic growth”, a 1200 metre stretch of the N75, gained limited attention for the past seven years.

Issues on the busy roadway, best known locally as Charles J. Kickham Street, were first raised in January 2021, by Thurles.info, and sadly resulted in the wasteful practice of large water-filled potholes being topped up, every couple of days, using cold tarmac. (View Here).

The issue was again raised on no fewer than 14 seperate occasions beginning between February 2021 and March 2024. We even highlighted where most of the cold tarmac gravel could be located, after it was dislodged hours later from newly filled potholes (View Here).

The 7 year abject failure to have issues improved, forced local residents to refrain from painting the exterior of their homes, due to attacks from flying stones and dirty, filthy water; same water which today still flows down the street’s centre like a shallow river, due to the lack of basic drainage and blocked shores.
Despite consistent serious flooding, and complaints highlighted, still no response came from our idle councillors, local officials and lazy resident politicians.
In last year’s local elections, the Thurles electorate who bothered to vote, returned all of these double jobbing individuals back into office.

See links hereunder which raised the issues of neglect with regard to route N75.

July 23rd, 2021, http://www.thurles.info/2021/07/23/kickham-street-thurles-seriously-flooded/
February, 13th, 2022, http://www.thurles.info/2022/02/13/kickham-street-placed-on-thurles-municipal-districts-three-year-roads-programme/.
May 10th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/05/10/kickham-street-thurles-co-tipperary-saga-part-i/.
November, 19th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/11/19/councillors-to-consider-traffic-calming-on-kickham-street-thurles-on-monday/.
May 10th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/05/10/kickham-street-thurles-co-tipperary-saga-part-i/.
May 12th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/05/12/kickham-street-thurles-co-tipperary-saga-part-2/.
May 13th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/05/13/clongour-road-jumps-ahead-of-kickham-street-for-resurfacing/.
September, 27th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/09/27/drainage-road-resurfacing-on-kickham-street-thurles-postponed-until-january/.
November 19th, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/11/19/councillors-to-consider-traffic-calming-on-kickham-street-thurles-on-monday/.
November 23rd, 2023, http://www.thurles.info/2023/11/23/n75-kickham-street-thurles-section-38-of-road-traffic-act-1994/.
January 3rd, 2024, http://www.thurles.info/2024/01/03/state-of-kickham-street-thurles-over-christmas-period/.
March 26th, 2024, http://www.thurles.info/2024/07/12/upgrade-of-n75-kickham-street-thurles-halted-due-to-lack-of-funding/

In the last fortnight one local councillor, Mr Jim Ryan, announced on local radio that TII, after 7 years, had no funding for this N75 project, yet Thurles.Info and Tipperary County Council had already been notified that funding had been sanctioned.

Today, it was officially confirmed to the general public that funding has been secured for this Thurles Kickham Street Improvement Scheme, but now 7 years later, we are none the wiser as to when or what year this same project will eventually commence.

Work proposed for this future upgrade will supposedly include:

• Road re-surfacing for a distance of approximately 1200m.
• Footpath improvement works at defined locations.
• Improvements to existing surface water drainage to alleviate existing surface water drainage issues.
• Traffic calming works.
• Improved pedestrian facilities including installation of additional uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.
• Provision of revised road signage and markings.
• Narrowing of carriageway running lanes to 3.25m wide (10.66273ft) on the mainline N75 approaches to the Mill Road roundabout.
• Minor design change to existing layout of Mill Road roundabout.
• Minor realignment of a section of N75 mainline carriageway to facilitate roundabout improvements.

As well as “Justice” and “The mills of the gods”; we can now confirm that the
wheels of “Tipperary Co. Council” and “TII” also grind exceedingly slowly.