The Chairman of Strabane District Council has welcomed the annual roads budget of £4.4million for the Strabane District Council area but he says that it should be more, the 'Journal' has learned.
Speaking after Tuesday night’s meeting between the Roads Service and Strabane District Council, Sinn Fein Councillor Jarlath McNulty said that although he welcomed the investment in the district’s roads, he would lobby for more money next year.
“T
he £4.4 million is the exact same amount of money we got last year for the Strabane district, it’s not new money.”
Colr. McNulty said that he would be lobbying for more money to be invested in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, Omagh council was allo-cated £4.75million for roads development, while Derry City Council received five million in roads funding in May of this year.
Explaining the allocation of monies, Minister for the Department of Roads Development,Conor Murphy said: “We plan to spend £2.6million on various road maintenance projects in the Strabane District Council area this year. A significant resurfacing scheme to be carried out this year will be on the A5 Melmount Road, north of Bellspark Road.”
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Roads Service's Divisional Roads Manager, Pat Doherty said there were significant challenges to be faced.
“The Investment Strategy anticipates a large programme of trunk road improvements over the next ten years, with investment totalling £3.1billion pounds. Roads Service is currently considering how this work will be programmed and delivered. By far the biggest challenge facing us is the A5 duelling,” he said.
Last month Roads Service carried out a series of public information days at four locations along the A5 route, at Ballygawley, Omagh, Strabane and Derry.
“The objective of these days was to raise awareness of the project and seek public comments. The information gathered will be used to help select the preferred corridor,” said Mr Doherty.
He continued: “Roads Service has also noted the recent decision on the reform of public administration and will be considering the revised working arrangements and structural changes that will need to be agreed and implemented by 2011. Despite these challenges, Roads Service will continue to concentrate on service delivery in the Strabane District Council area,” he said.
The full article contains 385 words and appears in Journal Friday DER Edition newspaper.
