19 November 2001

WORK ON FROSSES ROAD SCHEME NEARS COMPLETION

Work on a major £200,000 scheme on the A26 Frosses Road is almost complete, Malcolm Glover, Principal Engineer for Northern Division said today as he presented the Roads Service’s Interim Report for 2001/2002 to Ballymoney Borough Council.

Mr. Glover said: "Work on the two-year safety scheme on this strategic route is now nearing completion. The final stages of the contract include a review of the direction signing and an appraisal of the layout of the junction at Glarryford."

Mr Glover explained that the top priority for Roads Service continues to be the maintenance of the existing network.

He said: "I am pleased to inform the Council that Northern Division has secured extra funds for structural maintenance, most of which will be spent on additional resurfacing schemes.

"However, the amount allocated to Roads Service for maintaining the structure and surfaces of roads and footways throughout Northern Ireland is around half of what is required by our good practice Maintenance Funding Plan."

Funding for both Major and Minor Capital Improvement schemes continues to be fairly tight, although Mr Glover said that some additional funding has been secured for minor improvements on the trunk network.

He said: "The Division continues to get many requests for improvements large and small, so priorities have to be set. Accident reduction, encouraging the use of transport other than private car, and meeting established traffic and pedestrian needs continue to attract a high priority."

Mr Glover also gave details of Roads Service’s winter service procedures and salting routes. He informed Council that Roads Service has completed a review, the details of which were in the report, and that the recommendations are to be implemented during the early part of this winter season.