Cork County Council has already experience in the area of adaptation planning and has been successfully responding to climatic events over recent years. Examples of adaptation initiatives are outlined in this Section.

A section of roadway on the causeway located between Crookhaven/Barleycove and Mizen Head was closed due to the subsidence of a bridge structure after a flood/rainfall event in September 2015. The site was particularly difficult in that it was located in a tidal location and also situated within a Special Area of Conservation.

The situation caused disruption to local residents and a permanent replacement project commencing over the summer, with a necessary road closure, would have impacted upon tourist traffic. In an effort to maintain traffic movements across the causeway, Cork County Council explored alternative options of opening the causeway to traffic using a short term temporary solution. A solution was devised for the stabilisation of the existing structure and the installation of a temporary steel bridge which allowed the reopening of the roadway to single line traffic. A temporary bridge (12m span x 5m width), suitable for vehicular traffic was sourced in the UK.

to single line traffic. A temporary bridge (12m span x 5m width), suitable for vehicular traffic was sourced in the UK.

The temporary bridge was put in place in November 2015 which allowed the road to be reopened. This was left in place until the end of the 2016 tourist season. At that point, the temporary bridge was removed and the permanent repair work was carried out. The road reopened to two way traffic in early December 2016. The installation of the temporary bridge had the advantage of facilitating the reopening of the causeway in a matter of a few weeks. At the end of the exercise the temporary bridge ultimately became an asset available to Cork County Council in dealing with future emergency bridge or culvert collapse situations at short notice.