Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what measures are being taken to improve the road surface of Main Street, Toomebridge.
Minister for Infrastructure: While there are many roads within every council area, including Antrim & Newtownabbey, that would benefit from investment, due to limited budget resources, resurfacing work is taken forward through the prioritisation of those deemed most in need for intervention.
Therefore, I have recently announced the immediate investment of an additional £1m in road maintenance to begin to address the growing backlog of pothole repairs. This much needed funding will be used between now and the end of the financial year to target areas of particular need with small scale resurfacing schemes designed to repair areas that have suffered the most and where localised repairs are less effective. I have also allocated over £8m of additional funding to structural maintenance to allow further large scale resurfacing schemes to be delivered. This represents a significant investment in improving the structural integrity of our road network.
Details of the planned list of resurfacing schemes for the 2023/24 financial year in the Antrim area are included in the Department’s Annual Report for Antrim & Newtownabbey which can be found at;
https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/annual-report-antrim-and-newtownabbey-borough-council-2023
Work contained in the Annual Report is planned for completion in the current financial year subject to the ongoing availability of resources, capacity and subject to other events like severe weather that can impact programming. Plans for future years will be developed based on budget availability, delivery capacity and the condition of the network as a whole.
In the meantime, officials in my Department will continue to undertake regular inspections and repair defects in accordance with the Department’s policy.
ENDS
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