10,000 Mid Ulster road defects miss repair deadlines amid budget pressures

THOUSANDS of potholes and other road defects across Mid Ulster remain unrepaired within the required timescales, with the Department for Infrastructure blaming stretched resources and years of underinvestment.

Western Division Roads manager, Stephen Hughes, made the admission during an annual presentation to Mid Ulster District Council at its monthly meeting on October 22.

Figures presented to councillors revealed that 19,500 road defects had been recorded, but only 9,500 had been repaired within the specified timescales — leaving 10,000 outstanding beyond their deadlines.

The figures prompted concern from Councillor Trevor Wilson (UUP, Cookstown DEA), who questioned why repair targets were not being met and highlighted the potential consequences for road users and the public purse.

“The number of defects recorded was 19,500. The total repaired within the specified times was 9,500,” he said.

“That’s 10,000 defects that haven’t been repaired within the specified times, which could then lead to public liability claims, of which there were 396.

“Is there any particular reason as to why the timescales aren’t being met?”

Mr Hughes said delays were largely down to the capacity of contractors to carry out the necessary work, with the Department’s internal workforce already stretched and external contractors taking longer to respond.

“The position in terms of defect repairs would largely lie with our ability to get our contractors to respond,” he explained.

“The internal contractor has been stretched and will continue to be stretched in terms of his ability to deliver for us.”

He said the Department generally attempted to use its internal contractor first, turning to external contractors when the work could not be completed. However, this process was contributing to longer waiting times.

“We would prefer to see those figures a lot better, but unfortunately the resources we have at the moment mean we’re stretched,” Mr Hughes added.

He also pointed to significant underinvestment in the road network over the past 15 years, saying the resulting deterioration had increased the number of defects and placed further pressure on the Department’s ability to keep up with repairs.

Despite the concerns, Councillor Wilson welcomed work carried out on some roads in the Cookstown area, highlighting improvements at Cookstown and Lomond Heights where sections had been fully resurfaced rather than simply patched.

He argued that resurfacing entire sections of road could offer a better long-term solution than repeatedly filling individual potholes.

“Sometimes it’s better to tar a whole section rather than just the potholes,” he said.

Criticising what he described as a wasteful approach to temporary repairs, Councillor Wilson added: “The idea of people going out and beating material into holes and hitting them with a shovel is a waste of money, but that’s the way it is.”