Roads maintenance bonanza for Irish contractors

A £2.3m programme of essential road maintenance work for Northern Ireland has been unveiled by the Department for Regional Development today (Tuesday).

The works for the Greater Belfast area will  see resurfacing contracts on the M1, the A2 Belfast to Bangor Road at Holywood and the A2 Shore Road at Greenisland.

"The budget for resurfacing road works in the Eastern division has been increased by 20% and this investment will significantly help to reduce the backlog of necessary maintenance work on these key strategic routes," said the department's divisional roads manager Joe Drew.

The resurfacing scheme on the M1 covers four separate sections of carriageway, between Lisburn and Lurgan and will start at the end of April.

The work will be co-ordinated with the recently announced £6.4m scheme to widen the M1 between Blacks Road and Stockman's Lane - scheduled to start in mid July 2003 and to last for one year.

The work on the A2 at Holywood involves the section between Whinney Hill and Sullivan Place, Holywood and is due to start on 30 May 2003 and finish at the end of August.

The Shore Road, which is currently in poor structural condition, is expected to see work start in late July. Resurfacing will start between Jordanstown and Seapark at Greenisland.