Call for action as cracks appear in Waterford footpaths after just one year
The issue was raised at the September plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council
A call for action has been made over cracks appearing in footpaths in County Waterford which were constructed only a year ago.
The issue was raised by Fianna Fáil councillor Eamon Quinlan at the September plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
The footpaths in question were constructed along the Ring Road in Tramore as part of the Active Travel scheme which is being undertaken in the area.
Cllr Quinlan said: “Locals are concerned about a new system, that is meant to stand the test of time, already showing degradation.
“I am advised that footpaths are meant to last between 20 to 40 years before needing repair.
“These have been in place roughly a year, maybe two at a push. It would appear that they cracked over the course of the summer due to the heat.”
He acknowledged that while these cracks appear insignificant at present, they will become a bigger issue over time.
“The older, longer standing footpaths appear to be fine.
“These cracks are small now and I don’t believe they create a trip hazard but now, the elements will get at them.
“We all understand, this will only grow.”
Cllr Quinlan enquired as to how the council’s Active Travel team intends to address the issue.
“I have two important questions. Is it the Active Travels Team intention to go back over these and get them repaired before we take them in charge?
“Importantly, are Waterford City and County Council going to carry out a ‘snag list’, to check everything being handed over to us is in good order?
“If not, we would be on the hook for funding the repairs. These works were not small and we cannot absorb the cost of large-scale repairs on the council’s day to day budgets.”
In response, a member of the council’s management team advised that the Active Travel works would be treated like any other works completed by a contractor.
This means that when the works are declared finished, the engineers will review the finished project.
Anything not meeting the contractor’s contractual obligations will have to be repaired or altered before the local authority takes the project into ownership.
The council executive has said that it is not envisaged that any such repairs will happen before the overall ‘snag list’ is compiled at the end of the works.
Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Quinlan expressed his disappointment that the cracks won’t be addressed immediately.
He stated: “While I am glad that a snag list will happen, to ensure the taxpayer locally is not burdened with paying for any repairs in the short to medium term, I am disappointed that the current issues that have been raised by locals will go un-repaired for quite some time.
“I have put the council on notice that anything larger that appears, if it poses a risk to locals safety will have to be dealt with immediately, snag list or no snag list.
“If there is a lot to be done, it obviously slows down the completion of the works.”
Cllr Quinlan again questioned how the footpaths managed to crack so soon after construction.
“I would still have questions about how the newer footpaths became broken so fast, especially when the older ones that were retained are still going strong and are as old as I am.”
“It is crucially important that the works are to the highest quality or they will become a financial albatross around our necks,” he concluded.