Severe flooding has caused the closure of the N4 on either side of Carrick-on-Shannon and has angered business people in the town. They say no proper explanation has been given as to why water levels are higher than ever before.
Detours have been in place at the two locations for more than 10 days and the flood levels only started to go down slightly yesterday. Locals are concerned that it would could take some time for water levels to subside significantly.
A spokesman for the chamber of commerce, Mr Liam Farrell, said he believed business was being affected due to the difficulty in getting into the town from both Boyle and Longford. "There is water now in places where it was never seen before, and people want to know what is causing it, if this flooding will reoccur and what contingency plans are in place," said Mr Farrell.
He said problems were also being encountered on the detour route around the flooded area on the Boyle side of the town.
"It is a small, narrow road and a lot of the traffic is encountering difficulties staying on the road. There are big trucks going that road now and the signage around the detour is also very bad. It is bound to be discouraging people from doing business in the town," he said.
Mr Farrell said he would call on the Office of Public Works to explain the situation and outline the strategy to deal with it.
Severe flooding has also affected Leitrim village, where some people had to have water pumped from their houses.