South Kildare road filled with deep potholes for eight years

Residents in the Tankardstown area near Castledermot have been crying out for the L8095 Plunketstown road to be resurfaced since 2017.

One resident, Nicole Wietzorek, has been contacting the council over the last eight years, calling for the feeder road to be resurfaced due to large potholes on the surface.

“I have been living here since the noughties and there have been potholes upon potholes for years now. Since 2017 or 2018 it has been really bad with up to 42 potholes at some stage.” Since she moved into her home, the resident explains that she has “never seen anyone coming out to that road”, apart from workers sent by the council to make temporary improvements.

“They got someone out to fill the potholes, but the rain comes and washes it all away,” she said.

Nicole, who uses the road every day commuting to work, explained that her tyres take continuous damage as a result of the potholes. 

“Several times I had to get new tires on my car. It’s every couple months.” 

Nicole explained that the potholes pose great risks for drivers that are unfamiliar with the road: “I can foresee a crash happening.” 

In recent years, residents in the area have noticed the rural road getting a lot more traffic with, construction vehicles, tractors, and lorries, including lorries used for the transportation of felled trees.

“It’s not the same as it once was. A road can only last so long,” said the resident.

“Remedial works don’t fix the root problem.” 

The resident explained that her son has not been able to cycle on the roads due to the potholes, and for those trying to access nearby public transport by foot it can be “frightening” with the combination of potholes and lack of lighting in the area.

The road runs along the boundary of Kildare and Wicklow, and the resident explained that the road conditions are noticeably better on the Wicklow stretch of road in comparison with the Kildare section.

She said: "I just want it fixed. Maybe the council will do something to change the perception around rural roads.”

On February 4, Kildare County Council released a list of rural roads to be closed from Tuesday, 1 April to Sunday, 31 August 2025 “to facilitate the maintenance of the road network.” On the list the L8095 Plunketstown is included for maintenance for a total of ten days, with alternate routes provided for frequent users of the road.

The council also noted that the road is included on the 3-year re-surfacing programme, subject to funding, which allows approximately 20km of restoration works and a further 30km of road maintenance per year in Athy’s district, which has more than 700km of road in its municipality.