Future priorities for roads infrastructure

Keeping the road network in good condition is the National Roads Authority’s top priority but major works are starting again as money becomes available. Its Head of Regional and Programme Management, Michael Nolan, addressed Transport Ireland.

After reaching a peak of €1.7 billion in 2007, public funding for Ireland’s roads has since fallen drastically to around €300 million per annum. This brings it close to the €275 million budget which the National Roads Authority had at its foundation in 1993.

Michael Nolan, the authority’s Head of Regional and Programme Management, outlined the future priorities for investing in the national roads infrastructure at the Transport Ireland conference.

At present, the State has 1,300km of motorway and around 700km of good quality single carriageway roads but 3,500km of sub-standard national roads. The authority has three priorities leading up to 2016:

1. asset management, network rehabilitation and network operations;

2. minor works, safety and traffic management projects; and

3. major improvement projects.

In the first area, the NRA’s rationale is to “get best use of the road asset” in terms of transport efficiency, road safety and preventing its deterioration. “A road network, like most infrastructure, requires constant re-investment if deterioration is to be avoided,” Nolan commented.

€40 million has been allocated to this area.

A modern network requires “active operations management” to ensure that it functions safely and is efficient, both from a customer perspective and commercially. These operations include the tolling business, weather stations, traffic counters, emergency telephones and ice forecasting.

There is an overlap between this work and the minor works which form the second priority. Many national secondary routes and some national primary routes are “seriously deficient in terms of capacity, safety and alignment.” The NRA has assessed the condition of each national secondary route and will seek to make improvements, where funding allows.

Around 30 of these schemes are under construction. Most cover 1-5km of road and the cost of all the work needed adds up to €550 million. The individual projects in this category are “low cost and with high safety benefits.”

Safety projects are identified using information from regular road inspections, accident data analysis and observations from local authorities, An Garda Síochána and NRA safety engineers. Government policy rules out the continuous provision of additional capacity for unrestricted traffic growth. As a result, improving traffic management is “one essential element to keeping traffic flowing.”

On the third area, Nolan explained: “Commitments to the construction of new major improvement projects will normally be made only when the investment needs for priority one and [priority] two requirements are being substantially met.”

However, the NRA always maintains a pipeline of major schemes (at varying phases in planning) in order to protect routes and to allow the authority to respond to changes in funding plans.

New PPP schemes

N11/N7
16.5km length

Links Arklow and Rathnew

Upgrade of existing grade junction at Newlands Cross (N7) to grade separated free-flow junction

Contract award in April

Construction timescale: 24 months

M11 Gorey-Enniscorthy

27km length

East of N11

To by-pass Camolin, Ferns and Enniscorthy

Tender to be published:

September 2013

Target for contract award: early 2015

Construction timescale: 30 months

M17/M18

57km length

Links Gort to Tuam

Target for contract award: late 2014

Construction timescale: 3 years

& 6 months

N25 New Ross
15km length

Commences in Glenmore

(County Kilkenny)

Crosses over the River Barrow

Continues east to N25 and

north-east to N30

Target for contract award:

October 2014

Construction timescale: 36 months

NRA in brief
The National Roads Authority (NRA) was formally established as an independent statutory body under the Roads Act 1993 with effect from 1 January 1994.

The authority’s primary function is to secure the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads. For this purpose, it has overall responsibility for planning and supervision of construction and maintenance works on these roads.

Major works under construction

• N3 Belturbet by-pass

• N4 The Downs grade separation

• N5 Ballaghadereen by-pass

• N21/N69 Tralee by-pass

• N40 Cork southern ring road