New stone paving smashed up as installing new fiber cable as part of Clontarf route project “was deemed contractually expensive”

— Road, cycle paths and stone paving on footpath dug up just months after project fully opened.

Dublin City Council has said that new fiber-optic cables being installed by a private operator along the Clontarf to City Centre project was “deemed contractually expensive” to be installed while the project was being constructed, but the council said the affected areas will have to be restored by the contractors.

A member of the public, ‪Simon McGarr, posted images and videos of the new utility works to Bluesky. His video shows a jackhammer attachment on a JCB or similar machine being used to smash some granite setts (a still image from that clip is shown above). A worker also lifts some of the stone out by hand.

McGarr said: “Amazing. The Clontarf to City cycle lane closed the road to cars, disrupted the whole area for years. The final pristine cycle lane finally unveiled a bare few months ago? Today they’re tearing the landscaping, cobbles and the cycle lane up again.”

The official opening of the route happened on November 28th, 2024, although sections of the route had been finished for over a year before that.

IrishCycle.com asked Dublin City Council a series of questions, including that while it might not be possible to ensure no damage was done to the stone, did the council give any guidance to utilities about avoiding damage to the paving stone, why the cabeling was not included in the C2CC works, and if shared ducting for future utility company cables was looked at.

Late last week, Dublin City Council said: “The works that were carried out from 22nd March were to provide telecoms ducting. The works are still ongoing.”

“The work specifications used for the C2CC project were provided to the telecoms utility contractor. This will ensure that the reinstatements are in keeping with works done as part of the C2CC project,” the council said.

The statement said: “In the event that the utility contractor damages any paving stone, they will be required to replace with stone with the same characteristics. To date, the surfaces have been reinstated in a temporary manner and permanent reinstatement will follow.”

On the question of doing the work while the cycle and bus project was on-going, the council said: “During the construction of the C2CC scheme, the construction team liaised with the Telecoms unit and incorporated ducts in for telecoms in a number of areas. As part of this process and in order to maximise value for money, some old ducting, circa. 1.2km south of Annesley Bridge was also repurposed for telecoms.”

The council added: “Notwithstanding this extensive engagement and coordination of requirements, it was deemed contractually expensive to provide the segment of the Telecoms network between Annesley Bridge and Merville Avenue. This has led to this element of work being completed separately.”

Irish Water has also undertaken work digging up part of the street across from Clontarf Road train station, but it is understood that these works are related to leak repair required on a line off the main water line, which is a reactive process.