€483m roads investment includes funding for sites of crashes

A €483 million investment programme for regional and local roads this year will include funding for critical safety upgrades at deficient bridges and locations where road crashes have occurred.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross announced the 2019 programme for regional and local roads on Friday.

He noted the grants supplement local authorities’s own resources and expenditure on regional and local road projects and that they did not represent the total investment in regional and local roads for this year.

“Today’s announcement will see a further significant increase in grant funding for regional and local roads,” Mr Ross said.

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“Overall funding will increase by about 16 per cent this year. This increase in funding should allow approximately 2,400km of regional and local roads to be maintained and 2,150km to be strengthened this year.”

Priorities

Mr Ross said his main priority remained investment in the maintenance and renewal of the regional and local road network.

“Last year specific funding was ring-fenced for drainage works to help promote increased network resilience. This grant has been very well received by local authorities and the amount available for drainage works will double this year to €20 million. In addition funds are being set aside to assist with the purchase of velocity patching machines to further support local authorities’ road repair programmes.”

He said there would also be significant expenditure of €65 million on road improvements projects.

“As in previous years a significant number of these projects have a safety focus, including the R194 Dunancorry Bridge widening in Co Cavan, Derrartha Road in Co Galway, the R556 Dale Road in Co Kerry, Robeen Cross junction improvement in County Mayo, the R155 Curragha, and the R284 Gleann in Co Sligo.”

Mr Ross said €15 million is being allocated to Community Involvement Schemes as part of the two year programme started in 2018.

He said he had commissioned a regional road condition survey last year and that in light of the findings he had decided to initiate a pilot scheme to provide maintenance funding targeted on sections of former national roads which had been identified in the survey as being in poor condition. The total amount being allocated is €5 million.

Ireland 2040 schemes

Construction of a number of Project Ireland 2040 schemes was also due to be completed this year, including the Dingle relief road in Co Kerry, the Sallins bypass in Co Kildare, the Portlaoise southern relief road in Co Laois and the Adamstown and Nangor Road updates in Co Dublin.

The rehabilitation of a number of critically deficient bridges on regional roads will also receive funding, including Daly Bridge and St Vincent’s Bridge in Cork city, Tirconnell Bridge in Co Donegal, Ardfinnan Bridge and Clionbeg Bridge in Co Tipperary and Hartley Bridge in Co Leitrim.

“There is also provision for 270 bridge rehabilitation schemes and 240 safety improvement projects to be carried out. The main focus of the safety improvements scheme is to improve safety at locations where collisions have taken place or where the potential for collisions is high.”

“Building better roads can change lives, but investing in safer roads will save lives. The campaign to change attitudes to drink driving, speeding, phone use and seatbelt wearing must be accompanied by Government delivering major funding for quality road investment if our roads are to be safer for all, and I am glad to say we are doing that,” the Minister said.