Ireland to spend €483m on roads

The Republic of Ireland has announced an investment of €483m in 2019 for regional and local roads, an annual increase of 16% in funding.

Quoted in a press release, Shane Ross, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sport, said: "This increase in funding should allow approximately 2,400km of regional and local roads to be maintained and 2,150km to be strengthened this year."

Works in the investment programme include:      

• €215m for road pavement strengthening works
• €82m for maintenance and strengthening works, to be selected by local authorities
• €65m for specific and strategic regional and local roads projects
• €53m for surface dressing
• €20m for drainage works
• €15m for community involvement schemes
• €11m for bridge rehabilitation works
• €9m for safety improvement works

Ross added: "I would also like to emphasise again that I consider that local authorities are best placed to assess priorities within their areas and considerable autonomy is therefore given to local authorities under the maintenance and renewal grant headings to decide their work programme."

For information about specific road projects, read the press release here.

Image: A road in Donegal, Ireland (Dreamstime/Shawn Williams)