Athlone street work on course as lane closure comes into force

Westmeath County Council said the €4m streetscape improvement works underway in Athlone are on course to be fully completed by February next.

The update comes as a new traffic restriction prompted by the work began this week. A one-way traffic system was put in place at Pump Lane (in front of the former O'Neill's pub site) on Monday, and is due to remain in effect until Friday, October 6, with diversions in place.

The next major milestone in the project is expected to arrive in late August, when the current traffic closure at Mardyke Street is scheduled to be lifted. This will then be followed by the closure of part of Sean Costello Street, as work begins on its pedestrianisation.

The 90-metre stretch of Sean Costello Street from Flannery's pub to The Stairwell (formerly Murphy's Law) is being pedestrianised, with this work due to be completed between late August and February.

It means that vehicular traffic through this part of Sean Costello Street, which was reduced from two-way to one-way in recent years, will come to a permanent end in around six weeks' time.

John Cradock Ltd, the contractor which previously completed the overhaul of Church Street in Athlone, is the contractor working on the streetscape revamp at Mardyke Street, Pump Lane and Sean Costello Street.

Deirdre Reilly, Regeneration Project Manager with Westmeath County Council, told this newspaper that the streetscape project was on schedule and was expected to be fully completed by February.

"Construction is moving well, so we're still on target for early next year," she said.

She added that the local authority was continuing to liaise with local businesses in order to mitigate the impact of the project, saying meetings were taking place with a traders' representative group on a bi-weekly basis.

At the signing of the construction contract for the project, in January, Westmeath County Council chief executive Pat Gallagher said it was one of several regeneration projects in the county which would "revitalise our town centres, ensuring that they are welcoming and attractive places that are accessible and appealing to all regardless of age or ability".