The road closure at Abbey Road, Athlone. Photo: Paul Molloy.

Athlone road to remain closed for additional three months

Abbey Road in Athlone, which was originally closed in April and meant to re-open in July, is set to be closed for an additional three months.

In a tweet posted to X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, Westmeath County Council announced that the section of Abbey Road from St Vincent's Care Centre to the former Hanley's Cash and Carry would remain closed 24 hours a day until November 29.

The closure is to facilitate ongoing works connected to the €114 million Athlone Main Drainage wastewater project.

During a meeting of Westmeath County Council back in May, Cllr Hogan criticised the fact that many Abbey Road residents had been unaware that the road was going to close until they woke up on April 29 and found that access to their driveway had been cut off.

He said leaflet drops should have been carried out in advance, to notify the affected residents.

Motorists who would typically travel along Abbey Road to get to the Dunnes Stores branch in Montree, or to residential areas such as Marine View or St Kieran's Terrace, are now being asked to take a diversion on the Coosan Point Road, and past Arcadia Retail Park, in order to get to those same areas.