Minister ‘is working to increase NI roads spending’

Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard will be working to increase spending on structural roads maintenance, the Department of Infrastructure has said.

It follows criticism from Unite over cuts to the budget, which the union said has fallen from £131m to £54m in the last three years.

Unite raised concerns about overgrown verges and hedges and potholes not being filled in, and said this will put road users at risk and cost more in the long run.

Responding in a statement, the department said the minister is “acutely aware of the importance of infrastructure in supporting economic growth of the region as a whole and to the local economy”.

It said Chris Hazzard has “championed” the need to secure investment in transport and utilities, “particularly in rural areas and in the West”.

The statement went on: “This is reflected in the minister’s recently announced £10m Rural Roads Initiative, which will target sections of the network in greatest need of repair, with the £10m funding targeted at the areas of greatest need and which will deliver up to 1,000 small scale resurfacing schemes.

“This year’s budget also includes £5m recently added for essential road maintenance activities including the repair of potholes.

“The minister has also prioritised development expenditure in the west, in particular the significant A5 Derry to Aughnacloy and A6 Derry to Belfast road schemes, scheduled to be on site in 2017.”

It added that the provision for investment in structural maintenance in 2016 to 2017 is currently £66m and said the minister “will be seeking to supplement this in future monitoring rounds”.