Mr. Fred Barry:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for the invitation to appear before this committee to discuss the topics of maintaining the quality of road surfaces, access to and egress from motorways and developments in cross-Border roads such as the A5.

With regard to road surface maintenance, road pavements deteriorate as they age due to repeated traffic loading and fluctuations in temperature and moisture content. This deterioration leads to problems such as potholes, wheel track rutting, increasing roughness, cracking and loss of skid resistance. The authority undertakes condition surveys of the full national road network each year using specialised vehicles. Measurements taken include the road profile, rutting, cracking and other deterioration characteristics, as well as the skidding resistance characteristics. With rapid improvements in recent years in laser and video technology and the capacity to record and process ever-greater quantities of digital data, the authority has adopted increasingly sophisticated techniques. In particular, in 2011 and 2012 we first used new crack detection and processing technology for our motorway routes. Cracking is the principal manifestation of failure on pavements, and the ability to monitor its progression year-on-year now provides us with an improved capability to manage the major deterioration mechanism of our pavements.

In November 2011, the authority published its new standard for skid resistance management, HD 28/11. The standard sets out how the provision of appropriate levels of skid resistance for national roads will be managed and details how measurements of skid resistance are made and interpreted.

Renewal and surface treatment of pavements is a high priority for the authority as it is central to maintaining the functionality and safety of the network. Every year hundreds of renewal and treatment schemes are carried out. The renewal works associated with pavements are prioritised on the basis of the annual survey results and the skid resistance assessment, while maintenance works such as the fixing of potholes are decided locally. The volume of work carried out in any year is largely determined by the available funding.

Access to motorways is prohibited by the Roads Acts 1993 and 2007 except in specified circumstances such as for maintenance or for emergency services. If the motorway in question is part of the trans-European road network, the provisions of the EU directive on road infrastructure safety management are also relevant. This directive, transposed into Irish law by SI 472 of 2011, contains various provisions with regard to road safety and it is unlikely that access would be allowed other than in exceptional circumstances. Junctions on motorways may be approved by An Bord Pleanála as part of a motorway scheme. However, if the motorway in question is part of the trans-European road network, the proposed junction would have to have undergo assessment as prescribed by SI 472/2011 before being submitted to An Bord Pleanála. There is considerable detail concerning these provisions and related design requirements in the design manual for roads and bridges, which is accessible online at nra.ie.

A number of national roads cross into Northern Ireland, including the N1, N2, N3, N13, N14, N15 and N16. There are, of course, many non-national cross-Border roads also. The only cross-Border route on which developments are being planned now is the link between the N14 and N15 and the A5, crossing the River Foy, which lies between Lifford and Strabane. Donegal County Council, the NRA and the Northern Ireland Roads Service plan to build a new bridge at this location, which will tie into the proposed new A5. The statutory processes concerning the planned A5 are subject to a judicial review, and until that is resolved neither we nor Donegal County Council are taking further action on the crossing. However, it is our intention to have the new bridge ready to open at the same time as the section of the A5 at Strabane. There will be a need to agree Border crossing details where the new A5 meets the N2 near Aughnacloy. As that section of the A5 will not be built for some years, neither Monaghan County Council nor the NRA is actively engaged on the crossing now. The authority is not currently engaged in any other cross-Border national road scheme.