Debate contribution: Roadworks: South Down

Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on 3 December 2024.

MLA

Mr John O'Dowd

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

3 December 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Roadworks: South Down

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4691460

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

First, I thank Ms Forsythe for securing this important debate on the need for significant road works in South Down, and I thank the other Members for contributing to it. I have listened intently to the comments and issues that were raised and have heard Members' concerns about the road network in South Down and the need for further investment and improvements. Investing in new roads and maintaining roads are critical to ensure the safe movement of people and goods to allow the growth of our economy, whether rural or urban. I stress that the North can have whatever quality of road network that it wants, but it needs to be funded. In fairness, a number of Members touched on the need for funding to upgrade our road network. Without funding, new strategic roads to improve safety and help economic improvement will not get built, and roads will continue to deteriorate. My Department, like others, has been operating in a difficult financial environment. We hope against hope that we are moving out of an austerity period and will be able to stabilise our budgets as we move forward. We prepare and plan for that scenario. I recognise the inconvenience with the A2 Shore Road in Rostrevor, which is due to a landslide that occurred in late 2023. Since it occurred, my officials have been engaging with DAERA, the Forest Service and NIEA to bring forward an appropriate, safe and sustainable solution to the issue. I recently visited the location to see it for myself. Due to the scale and complexity of the work that is required, we needed to obtain the necessary environmental improvements. Those have now been obtained, which allows us to carry out the work.

I can, however, notify Members that Forest Service wishes to coordinate tree works on the embankment slope to allow us to reopen the road to two lanes. If Forest Service is not in a position to move onto that site in the near future, however, I will ask that the road be reopened to two lanes. We want to work in cooperation with other agencies, but, if we can open the lanes without the work that Forest Service needs to carry out, we need to move towards doing that.

I also recognise the inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of one lane of the Kilkeel Road in Hilltown due to verge slippage, which, again, was caused by severe weather in late 2023. The Member will be aware of the scale and complexity of the work required at the Kilkeel Road. It is significant, which means that it will take time to deliver a safe and cost-effective scheme. My Department will continue to work hard to open the road to two-way traffic as soon as possible. On a positive note, my Department is developing two major projects in the area. One is the Newry southern relief road, which is valued at between £110 million and £130 million. That is being progressed as part of the Belfast region city deal, which will provide a strategic link between the Belfast to Dublin corridor and the A2 Warrenpoint Road. Members mentioned the Ballynahinch bypass, which lies north of the boundary of the new South Down constituency and will bring substantial benefits to County Down. Development work on that project, valued at between £50 million and £60 million, although largely complete, is currently paused. I assure Members, however, that I am actively considering the progression of the project. I hope to make an announcement in due course. In July, I announced in the House that the A1 junction phase 2 improvements would proceed to procurement stage. Those are valued at between £120 million and £130 million. Our outline business case was recently approved by the Department of Finance, and I am moving to commence the procurement of that project. In June, I, along with the Irish Government, announced the start of the construction of the Narrow Water bridge, which is valued at around €100 million. That project is being led and funded by the Irish Government through the Shared Island Fund. It is a key piece of infrastructure that will connect North and South and create active travel links to the centre of Warrenpoint and Newry, increasing tourist numbers from the Carlingford greenway. In total, the estimated value of ongoing work to develop major projects is around £350 million. When those projects are delivered, they will encourage economic growth in South Down. Turning to road maintenance, the Executive agreed a 2024 Budget, and I made best use of the funding from that to target road surfacing. To that end, I allocated £101·5 million to capital structural maintenance, which includes resurfacing, surface dressing, structural drainage and verge stabilisation. That figure includes £12·5 million of the £19 million that I secured in October monitoring for essential structural road maintenance and street lighting work. I secured an additional £1 million of resource funding from the October monitoring round that I have directed to gully clearance. The clearing of gullies is an issue across all constituencies, and South Down is no different. As in previous years, the total capital funding for southern division, which includes South Down, is significant and is likely to deliver over £25 million in structural investment in this financial year. Road maintenance activity presents challenges. The closure of roads or single-lane traffic can also cause challenges for road users, but my team has to ensure the safety of road workers. Ms Forsythe previously mentioned her concerns that roadworks in South Down were not being properly publicised, but I assure her that, where significant delays may occur, my Department publishes notifications of current and upcoming roadworks on its TrafficWatchNI website, which allows people to choose alternative routes for their journeys. I draw Members' attention to my Department's recently launched consultation on the future delivery of active travel through the active travel delivery plan, which will be of huge benefit to the scenic areas of South Down. I am sure that Members will tell me that all areas of South Down are scenic, but I think particularly of areas such as Newry, Kilkeel, Newcastle and Downpatrick, where active travel proposals have been set out. Those will not only be of huge benefit to the local community but will bring tourism potential. We engaged with our colleagues on a number of travel linkages. I mentioned the Narrow Water bridge, which will connect North and South and likely attract locals and tourists from the Carlingford greenway to Warrenpoint and Newry. One of my colleagues from the Department is present in the Chamber. A note will be taken of specific roads that were mentioned, and we will respond directly to Members about them. I will respond to Members comments about the Audit Office report on utilities, which was published today. I am limited in what I can say because protocol dictates that the report goes first to the Public Accounts Committee. My Department can work with the Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee to bring the recommendations in the report to fruition. I am already looking at increasing the fees for opening roads for utilities, partly because they have not been increased since 2011. Also, the increase in fees will allow me to recruit more staff and have more inspectors, which, in turn, will ensure that roads are repaired and reinstated properly and we can inspect more. Roads are not allowed to be reopened within 12 months of resurfacing unless there is an emergency, such as a leak, but that is the general rule. I assure Members that I am doing my best to target more investment on rural roads to ensure that rural communities are not left behind because of poorer road conditions than those faced by others who live elsewhere. Mr McGrath was right: all emails receive a standard response. There is a reason for that: 95% of road traffic collisions are caused by human error. That is the reality of the situation. If there is a traffic collision, the condition of the road will be taken into account as part of the investigation, and my officials cooperate with the PSNI on those investigations. However, the harsh reality for us all is that 95% of accidents are caused by human error.

1,388 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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