The National Roads Authority will today announce an increase in its budget for 2002, to slightly more than €1 billion, The Irish Times has been told.
The increase, however, is unlikely to end the disagreement between the authority and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) on who is responsible for the escalating cost of the Roads Programme of the National Development Plan.
At more than €1 billion the allocation is almost €200 million more than that which was initially provided for in 2001, although the total spent last year was about €0.95 billion, due to a top-up of about €121 million, granted in December.
This year's figure of €1 billion will be reduced by inflation currently running at about 9 per cent in the construction industry. Inflation in the roads programme is a major cause of concern, rising to 15 per cent - more than twice the State level - in recent years.
The NRA firmly believes that pressure on the road infrastructure is a constraint on economic growth, particularly in the regions.
However, the number of new road schemes to start up in 2002 is still uncertain. Work continues on a number of major roads constructions such as the South Eastern Motorway and the N6 Dublin to Galway road, each costing more than €500 million.