Cat's eyes upgrade on Athlone to Moate road 'very costly'

An upgrade of the 'cat's eyes' on the Athlone to Moate R446 road will have to be completed in piecemeal fashion due to the costly nature of the job.

That was the response given to a motion from Cllr Frankie Keena at the January meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District of Westmeath County Council after Cllr Keena called for an upgrade of the cat's eyes on the busy road “in the interest of public safety”.

Cllr John Dolan seconded the motion and said if anything had showed the importance of having good visibility on all roads within the municipal district it was “the recent bad weather spell”.

While District Engineer Denis Sloyan said it would be “lovely” to see the cat's eyes being upgraded on the R446, he pointed out that this is a “very costly” undertaking.

He suggested that perhaps the upgrade works could be done “in bite-sized chunks” and agreed to put it on the list of works for the district and seek funding for the project.

Cat's eyes are reflective road studs that help to illuminate road boundaries for drivers at night, and they play a critical role in road safety.

They work by reflecting light back towards the source - such as car headlights - by way of a domed glass tube known as a retroreflector, and are usually installed on roads where no street lighting available, such as motorways and national primary and secondary roads.