Plaza Work Nears Completion

It’s been a long and tortuous 9 months, but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel. The civic plaza, work on which began last October, should be completed within the next few weeks, and not a moment too soon for hard-pressed traders who claim they have suffered a big drop in business as motorists and shoppers have avoided the town centre. The past week has seen the project take shape, with the footpath by the library almost complete, while paving on the Euro 2 side is moving along at a steady pace. With most of the digging finished, the next job will be to put overhead wires underground, followed by the installation of traffic lights, and once the paving is completed the plaza furniture will be put in place. The job will be completed with the erection of the Thomas Davis statue, which President Michael D. Higgins will unveil next December. The full-size statue was delivered to Mallow late last year, and is in council storage until nearer the unveiling.