Debate contribution: Roadworks: South Down

Debate contribution by Ms Diane Forsythe on 3 December 2024.

MLA

Ms Diane Forsythe

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Roadworks: South Down

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4691445

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Infrastructure Minister for being here to hear the call for significant roadworks in South Down. South Down is a predominantly rural constituency, and our roads are our critical infrastructure. In their current state, they are failing the people of South Down. Since being elected, I have relentlessly campaigned for significant road improvements across my constituency. With no railway infrastructure and poor bus links, our roads are essential for our connectivity. With substantial businesses located throughout South Down, whilst our main roads are not motorways or dual carriageways, they are our main roads and the only routes by which lorries and large industrial vehicles can travel. Our roads are critical, and they need significant work. Thirteen months ago, following significant adverse weather, three of our main arterial routes in South Down suffered serious damage. Those were the A2 in Kilkeel at Riverside, the A2 Shore Road in Rostrevor and the B27 Kilkeel Road in Hilltown. When those roads were closed, entire towns and communities around them were cut off, businesses ground to a halt, public transport could not function and the emergency services were severely restricted. The A2 in Kilkeel at Riverside collapsed following years of neglect and underinvestment on that stretch of road. After weeks of closure, it was repaired and reopened, but that begs this question: how many other significant weaknesses are just waiting for serious weather to cause a collapse? The Shore Road in Rostrevor and the Kilkeel Road in Hilltown are, however, a much worse story, and I have written to the Minister on a number of occasions about them. Both roads still operate with temporary traffic lights and single-lane traffic, 13 months after they were first damaged and closed. That is not good enough for the people of South Down and those who travel to and through it. The failure to repair and reopen those roads for so long is raised with me every week, everywhere I go. My constituency office is inundated, so I ask the Minister to hear the significant impact that it is having on people and businesses and to please take some urgent action. The A2 Shore Road in Rostrevor is the main road from Newry through Warrenpoint to Kilkeel and Newcastle. The emergency services are significantly impeded by the road restriction, and that could cost lives. Until last year, the road was regularly filled with lorries and industrial vehicles with wide loads for business purposes, but now that it is down to one lane and a narrow lane for tall vehicles, many vehicles have to take an alternative route, adding significant distance to their journey, with increased fuel costs and challenges for the businesses that they are reaching. For locals, the routine journeys in and out of the town to work and to school are severely impeded, and the large metal plate over the huge hole in the road on the only open lane is often loose and has clipped up and damaged many vehicles. On 1 July, Minister, you told me that steps were being taken to move the concrete blocks back to the verge and there were issues to be resolved by DAERA, Forest Service and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). Last month, the AERA Minister confirmed to me that NIEA officials had told DFI Roads that the measures were permitted in the NIEA-managed Rostrevor Forest nature reserve, so the ball is in DFI's court. Minister, when you respond to the debate, I ask you to please advise when the A2 Shore Road in Rostrevor can be opened to two lanes of traffic again and repaired. People in the area see no end to the situation. They are depressed and in despair, and they are just looking for clarity. The B27 Kilkeel Road in Hilltown is another significant road and is the main road through the mountains from Kilkeel to Hilltown and Rathfriland. It is used by many commuters and large vehicles every day. The restriction to one lane is, as in Rostrevor, slowing emergency response vehicles and causing significant delays. The Minister has outlined the complexity of the land slippage and the scale of the repairs in previous responses to me. Again, however, as with the road in Rostrevor, I ask you, Minister, to please advise when the Kilkeel Road at Hilltown can be open again to two lanes of traffic and repaired. I make the point again that people are exasperated and are looking for some progress and clarity. Two significant roads in South Down are in need of significant work just to allow two-way traffic to resume as it was. We need to see the improvement soon. We do not know, as we look across the country, whether we would see this anywhere else. As well as those significant, long-term, one-lane road closures, the road network across South Down is in serious need of other significant works. The A2 from Kilkeel to Newcastle is in a terrible state. Alongside my local Mournes councillors, Glyn Hanna and Henry Riley, I have campaigned for much-needed resurfacing for a long time, and we will continue to do so. Earlier this year, I asked the Minister about that issue. Initially, there was no money for it, but I am grateful that he was able to secure some for a small 1·4 kilometre stretch of road. However, Minister, that is far from the worst part of the road, and I ask you to please support the continued resurfacing out of Kilkeel, past Council Road towards Newcastle, as it is currently like a train track that no vehicle could run on. Motorbikes and cyclists face incredibly dangerous conditions, and it is an issue of constant complaint to my office. Further down the road, as we reach the Ballagh, we also need to see the long-promised road widening scheme, as two large vehicles cannot pass without a high-level collision on that part of the road. With many buses and lorries on that through route, it is a significant issue. Mourne needs investment in the improvement of the roads. This is the Mourne coastal route, and it should be a tourist attraction, with people out enjoying their drive. We need the infrastructure to support that. In the upper part of my constituency, people have long been disappointed by the lack of progress on the promised Ballynahinch bypass. I wonder whether the Minister has any plans to revisit that. In the absence of an official Ballynahinch bypass, we all know that drivers take an unofficial one. That has led to serious deterioration of the roads through the Spa. Alongside my local Slieve Croob councillor, Alan Lewis, I call for significant investment in improving the road in the Spa to cope with the volume and complexity of traffic that travels through it to bypass Ballynahinch. Up over the mountains to Rathfriland, and it is often said to me that there is no road into Rathfriland that does not need significant work. Patched-in jobs do not cut it. With the volume of traffic and farm machinery on those roads, we need investment to fix and improve them for the long term. Again, whilst they are not motorways or dual carriageways, in rural South Down they are our main through roads, our connectivity, and when the roads are failing, we lose that and the critical infrastructure connecting our rural communities. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report released today: 'Road Openings by Utilities'. To maintain and enhance assets and services, the utilities regularly open the road network to access their gas and water, and it is their responsibility to reinstate the road to an acceptable standard. Today's report notes that the issues are significant, with 55,000 openings in 2023-24. When we get the good news of a road resurfacing scheme, I get regular feedback and comments, "How long until it is open again for another piece of work?". I hope it is not true, but I have had a few messages today about the newly resurfaced piece of Kilkeel Road being cut into. I hope that that is not true, but I can only believe what my constituents bring to my door. It is so visible on the ground, and there is nothing more disappointing, when you fight and get to deliver a lovely new piece of road, than seeing it cut open. It needs to be managed better. The quality of repairs also needs to be improved. We have potholes repaired only to fall further apart and in a worse state, needing repeated and more significant work at higher cost. Recently in my area, we have had the road out at Glenloughan on the Banbridge Road, Rathfriland. Just this weekend, I felt I was playing dodgem cars as I navigated my way around it. The poor quality of repairs, when the tar comes out of the road and it gets worse, is a really significant issue, and I ask the Minister for a review of the quality of the repairs. I love my constituency. I love where I live and represent, the people, the businesses, the groups and clubs. I want to see South Down be the best it can be: thriving. In order for that, we really need to be connected to the rest of Northern Ireland by better infrastructure. South Down is one of the best parts of Northern Ireland; we all know that, in spite of the many challenges that are faced by us. I hate always to be negative in the Chamber in my interactions with you, but we need to see significant investment in our roads. At the very least, the roads that have been in need of repair for some time must have two-way traffic or at least a date for a commitment to give people some faith that things are moving in the right direction. I call on you to commit to delivering more in South Down and to reinvigorate the Mourne coastal route by committing to resurfacing. It will save you a fortune in car damage claims, and it will improve the lives of many people working in and visiting South Down. I invite you at any time to come down for a drive, if you are brave enough.

1,718 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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