Roads underspend hits £300m mark

Published 3 Apr 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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The effects of subsidence and poor foundations on the B533 road between Newtownbutler and Wattlebridge, one of the busy cross-border routes.

The underspend on roads maintenance in Northern Ireland over the past 10 years now stands at more than £300 million, according to the latest figures produced by the Quarry Products Association (QPA), which represents many of the road construction firms in Fermanagh engaged in this type of work.

Despite this shortfall, the QPA has welcomed an increase in the maintenance budget for the next financial year for 2009/10 which will bring the total spend on roads in Northern Ireland during the year to £71.8 million.

The figures were revealed following meetings between the QPA"s regional director, Gordon Best and the Regional Development Minister, Connor Murphy, and the Finance Minister, Nigel Dodds.

Mr. Best welcomed this commitment and the recognition by both Ministers that the condition of the roads network is an area of concern and one that requires more investment in the future when funds become available.

Mr. Best added, 'The increase for 2009 -10 is welcome but falls way short of the recognised £105 million per year that is currently required to maintain our strategically important roads network. Current cumulative figures for annual under spend in roads maintenance over the past 10 years now stands at a staggering £310 million. This past year we have came closer than ever to spending as much money on filling potholes as resurfacing roads. This is a statistic and practice that is unsustainable and cannot continue or it will mean significant extra cost in future, significantly impacting on the potential growth and development of our economy. We must prioritise the resurfacing of roads over the next few years in order to reduce the high level of spend on filling potholes. Our roads network is quite literally the veins and arteries through which the lifeblood of our economy flows through. The recent cold weather and significant increase in salting of roads has put further pressure on the crumbling roads network. One only has to look at the deteriorating condition of some of our most important trunk roads such as parts of the Omagh to Enniskillen road in the west to realise we need to spend more on maintaining our roads.'

Mr. Best produced figures for road maintenance expenditure across Northern Ireland which show that over the last nine years, the maintenance budget has varied between £47m to a peak of £83m in the 2003/2004 year. However the figure which Mr. Best says is most significant is the shortfall when the Roads Service funding plan maintenance estimate is taken into account. In two years, the shortfall was £8 million per year but in most years it was between £25m to £35m per year. He also produced figures which showed that the expenditure on surface patching was at least half and in some cases three-quarters the expenditure on actual resurfacing.

Mr. Best commented 'We all accept that the Executive have serious financial challenges at present and only so much money available with pressures coming from areas such as fuel poverty, health and education. The time is fast approaching when we as a society have hard choices to make. If we want to maintain our roads, schools and hospitals then we are going to have to pay more. In future that may mean paying water charges, increased rates and getting more of the economically inactive into employment and contributing to the tax pool'.

'The quarry industry and wider construction industry have been one of the hardest hit sectors by the current economic downturn. However we are managing our way through it as best we can and it is vital that the limited financial resources we have are spent in a way that delivers value for money. We need flexibility from Government, a true partnership approach and decisive leadership from our political leaders to ensure that we are cushioned from the worst effects of the current downturn and that our economy and people are ready for the upturn when it comes', said Mr. Best.

One part of Fermanagh"s road network where money is being spent by the Roads Service is the A4 trunk road between Tamlaght junction and Lisbellaw. A project costing £650,000 is nearing completion on this road to 'bring it up to current trunk road standard,' according to a spokesman for the Roads Service.

In the next financial year, a similar project will improve the road between Maguiresbridge and Brookeborough.

However these are the largest road maintenance schemes to take place in Fermanagh in the near future.

And this is a worry for the future, according to local Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Tom Elliott.

'As I travel throughout Fermanagh & South Tyrone, many of the roads I use have not had any substantial work carried out for a number of years and there are often visible potholes and signs of extreme wear and tear. The standard of surface in many places is simply not fit for a modern road network in the 21st Century. Notably, this is not just a problem in my constituency but throughout Northern Ireland and it is unacceptable that at a time when we really need to be enhancing our infrastructure and attempting to move Northern Ireland forward we find that the spending on our road structural maintenance is going backwards.'

'I appreciate that given the current economic situation all the Ministers in the Executive are having to make cuts in spending. However, I would argue that the massive cut we are seeing in road structural maintenance is too large and will end up costing us more in the long run. It is worth remembering that as a country we are reliant, both economically and socially, upon a viable and efficient road network. In many areas of Northern Ireland public transport is limited and there is little or no railway service at all. This is why I am convinced that this cut is wrong and why I would call on Minister Murphy to look into this matter with haste and with a view to increasing the amount available for road structural maintenance.'

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 02 Apr 09

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