Flood could damage Liscooley bridge warns Cllr Gary Doherty

Another major flood in the Finn Valley could do untold damage to a bridge just outside Liscooley.

At Monday's Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District meeting, Cllr Gary Doherty said he was worried about the integrity of the bridge at Magheraboy

He said this bridge needed to be top of their priority list.

"I know the bridge team in the council is looking at it but I'd like to request that it be prioritised and we receive a report on it as soon as possible."

He added he also wanted to be in a position to apply for funding for it as soon as possible.

"The bridge itself is in a poor state of repair. I would be very fearful that during the next period of inclement weather, something might happen to it. I would also have serious safety concerns for it."

He added recent flooding in the area had put homes and properties in danger and warned it could happen again.

"The residents have asked me to tell the council that if it wanted to take ownership of land near the burn that goes under the bridge to widen that area the two landowners would be willing to hand over whatever bits of land the council needed.

The call was seconded by Cllr Martin Harley.

"This is a massive issue and has been going on for a long time. It needs to be sorted," he said.

Senior roads engineer Claire McGeever told the meeting a review of all bridges was currently underway to see what the issues are and what funding was needed.