Muff main street subsiding

The continual subsidence of Muff main street is due to a leaking water main, according to Donegal County Council's Roads and Transportation Manager in Inishowen, Seamus Hopkins.

Councillor Terry Crossan (Sinn Féin) said the subsidence was the most major issue he was currently dealing with.

Speaking at January's meeting of Inishowen Municipal District councillors, Cllr Crossan said the subsidence was clear to be seen.

He added: “That road from the border is one of the main arterial routes from the Republic of Ireland into the North of Ireland and is used by a huge volume of traffic every day, especially in the morning and in the evenings when the traffic is returning.

“There are five petrol stations in Muff, three supermarkets, a car sales showroom, two pubs, a restaurant and many other smaller but very vibrant businesses and I think it's critical the issue is addressed.

“I would commend Council staff for the prompt attention to issues we had over the Christmas period, but I think we need a long-term solution that is going to remedy these recurring problems.”

Replying to Cllr Crossan, Seamus Hopkins said Muff main street had been an “ongoing issue”.

He added: “We have renewed the surface and overlaid there frequently enough. There are issues with, we would contend, with the water main there that probably has a lot of ongoing issues in terms of leaks.

“What that would do is scour away the foundations of the road and then lead to the road subsiding. Localised subsidence over the main would be our position but we have agreed with Irish Water to look at that location.

“We were arranging to do a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test to measure the test of the sub-grade there. We will keep it under review and try and resolve it.

“However, there is an issue, we believe, with the Irish Water services and damage to the foundation, that is then leading to localised subsidence. It has been ongoing and if you drive up that road, you can nearly follow the location of the main through the patch repairs that have been done,” said Mr Hopkins.