AQW 9274/22-27


Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast


Tabled Date: 20/03/2024
Answered On Date: 08/04/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for his assessment on whether tarmac surfacing used in road construction is cost effective, given the prevalence of potholes.


Answer:
My Department places high importance on the need to adequately maintain the road network through a properly resourced programme of structural maintenance. The purpose of the programme is to maintain the integrity of the network. Such maintenance includes strengthening, surface dressing, patching and drainage works. It has been independently established that some £192 million (at 22/23 prices) is needed to maintain the structural integrity of the North’s road network. However, for many years the funding available to my Department has fallen far short of this requirement.
My Department’s Resource budget, which is used to deliver day-to-day maintenance activities such as patching and grass cutting, has also been under significant pressure for many years. In response, my Department has had to reduce its routine road maintenance activities to a limited service, which prioritises delivery of essential services for maintaining public safety and protecting the transport network.
Consequently, only the highest priority defects across the network are currently being repaired. As a result, we have all seen a continued deterioration in our infrastructure with large numbers of potholes and other defects developing across the road network, especially after periods of particularly cold or wet weather.
The combination of these factors would indicate that the current issues on the road network are due to sustained underfunding and the recognised inability to upgrade road surfaces which have come to the end of their serviceable life, rather than a need to move to a different type of construction.
The importance of a well maintained road network cannot be understated but this requires investment. I will continue to seek the support of Executive colleagues to enable this to happen.