Roads closed during downpour

Roads closed during downpour

24 October 2012

MANY roads across the district were affected by heavy flooding last week following a torrential downpour.

Roads Service staff were alerted to a number of floods and staff were stretched in trying to deal with the volume of calls they received last Thursday morning.

Several roads were closed with many others only passable with extreme care following horrendous weather conditions the previous evening and overnight.

One motorist got into difficulty at the Ballydonnell Road near Tyrella and had to be towed to safety as flood water surrounded the vehicle.

Agricultural land already sodden following one of the wettest summers on record could not soak up the heavy rain which fell which resulted in thousands of gallons of water pouring on to roads which quickly flooded.

Surprisingly, the Mourne View Road in Newcastle which is a notorious flooding hot spot, did not flood despite the heavy rain. It’s believed the fact there was a low tide ensured residents were not left trapped in their homes again.

Roads around Clough, Seaforde, Dundrum and Ballykinlar suffered most from flooding with some people making their way to work last Thursday morning having to take an alternative route.

Six sections of the Commons Road in Ballykinlar were under water, with one section close to the Blackstaff Road posing particular problems for car drivers.

Two sections of the Manse Road in Seaforde were flooded, while the Claragh Road in Clough was also under several inches of water and only passable for those driving large vehicles.

The Dromara Road outside Dundrum was one of the worst affected areas. It was flooded along two sections, one of which was completely impassable for car drivers.

The Hollybush Road off the main Castlewellan Road was flooded as water cascaded out of neighbouring fields. Several sections were under water and a field where barley had recently been harvested had flooded.

Surface water made driving conditions at the Kilmegan Road outside Dundrum hazardous for drivers, while the Money Lane Road near Dundrum was also flooded.

The Blackstaff and Knocksticken roads near Clough bore the brunt of last week’s torrential rain, sustaining major flooding, while parts of the Clanmaghery Road and Ballydonnell Road near Tyrella were flooded.

In Downpatrick, sections of the Mearne and Strangford roads were under water, while the Finnebrogue road was closed for several hours as it was also under water. The Ballyrolly and Drumcullen roads outside the town were flooded.

Elsewhere, flooding was reported at South Promenade in Newcastle, the

Ballyculter and Ballydugan roads outside Downpatrick, Saintfield’s Ballygowan Road, Ballynahinch’s Windmill Crescent, the Comber Road in Saintfield, Banbridge Road in Castlewellan and Springmount Road in Ballygowan.