Cutting back on Motorway Maintenance not an option!

The NRA’s incoming chairman, Cormac O’Rourke, has told a Dail committee that cutting back on repairs would not cause any serious issues “for a year or two”  but a failure long term to maintain the network would cause a serious acceleration of deterioration.

Our national motorways will begin deteriorating from 2015 unless money is put into essential maintenance, Mr. O’Rourke continued.

He said: “Cutting back on motorway maintenance expenditure is not a serious issue for a year or two.

In the past decade The State has spent over €17bn upgrading the road network, these works have included building new motorways and dual carriageways connecting many of Ireland’s towns and cities.

Mr. O’Rourke went on to say that this investment could be “lost” if funds were not put in place for essential repairs and maintenance.

“As the backlog builds up and deterioration accelerates, there comes a time when maintenance will have to receive funding priority if many of the achievements of the past are not to be lost.”