New strategy promises longer-lasting road repairs across Northern Ireland

Pictured: Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins

Northern Ireland’s roads are set to receive longer-lasting repairs under a new maintenance strategy that promises to improve quality, make better use of technology and target investment where it is needed most.

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins unveiled the new Road Maintenance Strategy on Monday, outlining a new approach aimed at improving the condition of the region’s 26,000-kilometre road network despite continuing financial pressures.

For motorists across County Antrim and the rest of Northern Ireland, the strategy signals a shift away from simply repairing defects as they appear towards using technology to identify deteriorating roads earlier and prioritise preventative maintenance.

Focus on better quality repairs

Launching the strategy, the Minister said roads are vital to everyday life, supporting businesses, connecting communities and driving economic growth.

“We all want our roads to be better and to achieve that, we must be ambitious and innovative in equal measure, using the resources we have in a more targeted and effective way,” she said.

“The new maintenance strategy sets out how we can get there. We are moving in a new direction, one that will lead to a better quality of maintenance and longer lasting repairs. We will harness the latest technology to target resources where they are needed most, which will in turn ensure we are delivering the best possible value for public money.”

The Department for Infrastructure says there is no quick solution capable of addressing every pothole or road defect across the entire network. Instead, the strategy proposes using improved monitoring technology to identify where maintenance will have the greatest long-term benefit.

Three guiding principles

According to the Department, the strategy is built around three key principles:

• delivering higher-quality road maintenance;

• carrying out repairs at the right time to make them more durable; and

• using technology to direct investment towards roads that need it most.

The strategy also commits to increasing the use of environmentally sustainable materials where appropriate and designing maintenance schemes that are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Minister Kimmins said the approach was intended to improve not only environmental sustainability but also ensure public money is invested more effectively.

“Equally, this strategy is about financial sustainability and ensuring that we invest in our infrastructure assets for the wider benefit of all,” she added.

What happens next?

The strategy sets out the Department’s long-term approach to maintaining Northern Ireland’s road network rather than announcing new funding or specific resurfacing schemes.

Its success will depend on how the new approach is implemented and the level of future investment available for road maintenance across Northern Ireland.

Further information

The full Road Maintenance Strategy and accompanying consultation report are available on the Department for Infrastructure website:

Road Maintenance Strategy