Condition of roads becoming ‘untenable’

THE Department for Infrastructure is to take action to repair a number of large potholes on the Blackfort Road between Omagh and Fintona.

It is expected a contractor will carry out the repairs as soon as is practicably possible.

Local residents in the area have complained about the state of the busy route, and called for action.

One described the condition of the road as ‘beyond a joke’.

There are ongoing concerns about the state of many local roads, and West Tyrone Sinn Féin councillor, Stephen McCann, says the situation facing the Blackfort Road and many other routes is now becoming ‘untenable’.

“The state of roads is something which I and others are raising on a daily and weekly basis with the Department for Infrastructure and we are being told the same response that roads were inspected and there is nothing that can be done,” he said.

“The problem is that the funding being allocated to the very hard-working local engineers is simply not enough. “Rural roads are in dire straits at the present time, and you have to feel for those residents and workers like carers and taxi drivers who are travelling along them on a regular basis.

“There is a rural and urban inequality which needs to be addressed. People pay their taxes and deserve to have adequate road surfaces. As councillors, we are continually writing to the Minister, Nichola Mallon, urging her to prioritise the funding to address this problem because it is starting to become untenable.”