MLA slams ‘highest road defects in North’

THE LOCAL district has more road potholes than any other council area in the North, it has been revealed.

New figures detailing the extent of the problem were obtained by Strabane MLA Daniel McCrossan after he asked the Minister John O’Dowd, to detail the amount of potholes and road defects across the North by constituency.

The figures demonstrate that of the 11 council areas, Derry City and Strabane is plagued with a massive total of 3,199 potholes and road defects. Next in line is Newry, Mourne and Down which has a considerable decrease with 1,643 road surface defects. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon have 1,309, Belfast 1,157, Antrim and Newtonabbey 1,098, Fermanagh and Omagh 1,092, Mid & East Antrim 795, Mid Ulster 679, Lisburn and Castlereagh, 418 and Causeway Coast & Glens have 305 – while the council area with the least amount of defects is Ards & North Down with a paltry 263.

Daniel Healy, from the western division of the Department for Infrastructure was present at council’s Special Environment and Regeneration meeting held this week to address the issue. In doing so, Mr Healy outlined the criteria for pothole repair on roads across the North, suggesting that not all defects met that criteria allowing repair and cited budgetary constraints as the main barrier.

Mr Healy said, “I can confirm that our limited service policy allows us to repair any potholes over 50 mm on all roads and over 20mm on trunk roads or high vehicle roads… at the minute our budget and policy doesn’t allow us in terms of money and budget to address them until they reach a certain depth.”

Following this Daniel McCrossan said the district is suffering from ‘massive neglect’.

He remarked, “These figures are an absolute disgrace which goes to show the massive neglect this district is facing.

“Serious questions need to be answered here from DfI. Our roads are in a terrible state. Just drive down to the square or on the Railway Road and you’ll see a patchwork of repair still littered with potholes. Our rural roads are even worse and can be a real hazard for drivers.

“I will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister to hear what exactly he is doing about this. This neglect needs to stop and the north west needs a special budget to address this.”