By Dionne Meehan
RESIDENTS of the Tops in Raphoe have expressed their thanks to Donegal County Council this week after major road works were carried out to fix a crater caused by recent flash floods.
The road collapse, which was caused by July’s flash flooding, resulted in a partial collapse of a culvert.
The section of the road, close to Tops Farm, was completely washed away leaving a crater estimated to be 15ft deep on one side of the road.
With families and business owners in Raphoe left living in misery, they were forced to take alternative routes in and out of their homes while farmers had to endure a 10km round trip to get silage because of the crater.
In the wake of the severe flooding in July, Cllr Frank McBrearty Jnr called on Donegal County Council to put together a co-ordinated emergency plan in conjunction with the community and businesses of Raphoe town.
He demanded that proper levels of funding to address the damage caused by the flash flooding be put in place and that flood prevention measures are implemented without delay. Following the examination of various design options, the assessment of the adjacent road sections and consent under the Arterial Drainage Act, Donegal County Council got the go ahead on Monday last to begin the major works.
With restoration work initially said to be carried out after Christmas, residents were more than pleased to see work begin last week.
Seamus Lafferty, a resident of the Tops, told the Donegal News last month that his life had been “turned upside down” since the road became inaccessible.
Commenting on this weeks progress, Seamus has described the work as being a “life-saver”.
“It is a life saver for everyone living here.
“It is unbelievable to be able to go out and within a few minutes you are in the town.
“People are able to get home from work without an extra 15 minutes of travel to get home,” he said.
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