Western Development Commission Expresses Grave Concern at Findings of Road Report

Western Development Commission Expresses Grave Concern at Findings of Road Report

galway.net , 23 September 2002

The Western Development Commission (WDC) has expressed grave concern about the findings of the report to Government on investment in the roads network under the National Development Plan. The report shows that, at the end of 2001, although overall roads expenditure was 22% ahead of budget the expenditure in the BMW (border, midland and western) region was only 75% of that forecast. Only a quarter of the 53 BMW projects on National Primary Roads were in the construction phase or completed by the end of 2001. Expenditure has been concentrated on Dublin and the Major Inter Urban routes (MIUs) so that in the Southern and Eastern Region is 45% ahead of budget.

“The situation is extremely worrying”, said Chief Executive Lisa McAllister. “One of the core objectives of the NDP is balanced regional development. It is not acceptable that investment in roads in the BMW region is below target. We consider the current NDP commitments for road development in the West as minimal. The recommendations of the report with regard to the reconsideration of priorities and the rescheduling of projects must reflect the objective of balanced regional development and address the absolute necessity of improving road infrastructure in the West. If Dublin and the MIUs are to be allowed to continue to the take up most of NDP expenditure then the outlook for the West will be very bleak,” she said The report points out that only Dublin and MIU projects have clear time-bound physical targets, which is not the case for other national primary and national secondary routes. The WDC share the author’s view that without clear targets these routes may get squeezed out and be seen automatically as of lower priority. “It must be remembered that the N6 from Galway to Dublin is the only designated MIU in the Western Region. Other key access routes to the West, like the N5 to Mayo, the N4 to Sligo, the roads to Donegal and the north-south corridors through the Region, are in need of major upgrading. The WDC have called for precise targets in relation to roads for these very reasons”.

“The WDC wants to portray a positive image for the West. However businesses and potential investors are constantly pointing to bad roads as a major barrier to development in the region. We have been highlighting these issues in a number of reports for the past three years. It is essential that any adjustments, in the light of overall budget overruns, redress these imbalances and do not worsen the situation. The WDC is determined to ensure that this is what happens”, she stated. The WDC is also concerned about the revelation, in the report, that the NRA has decided carry out fewer improvements on National Secondary Roads and concentrate on pavement strengthening rather than on bypasses and improvements in alignments. Such roads are particularly important in the West where long-distance commuting is common and many are in a poor condition.

While welcoming the finding that expenditure on Non-national Roads is ahead of target, the WDC is concerned at the recommendation that adjustments be made to allocate higher per capita monies to the more urban counties. This recommendation runs directly counter to the NDP’s objective of balanced regional development and would be detrimental to rural development, according to the WDC.

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