Some very high tides occasionally flood the roads in the vicinity of Belvelly Bridge leading to Cobh. This results in traffic to and from Cobh being disrupted until the water recedes. Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton has called for works to be carried out in this area to prevent the roads being flooded.
“I have been told that minor works on each side should alleviate this problem, raising walls, and putting in sluice gates should have the dual effect of preventing the tide from flooding onto the roadway at high tide and also allow surface water to drain off the road way at other times.
“We must not forget that Cobh is an island and that the risk does exist that over 14,000 people could be cut off. This is why plans were put in place a number of years ago to construct a new bridge and new roadway onto the island. However at a cost of over €50m for this project it is not now feasible in the short to medium term. I would hope that, when and if finances improve as the economy improves, we might be in a position to revisit this project. In the meantime I have asked Cork County Council and the Minister of the Environment to do whatever they can to ensure that the road into Cobh is safeguarded from future flooding.”
