Sinn Féin’s Declan Kearney has welcomed the Infrastructure Minister’s announcement of a £237,000 road resurfacing scheme on the Loughbeg Road, Moneyglass, to be followed by a further substantial investment of £319,000 for
carriageway resurfacing on a section of the Seven Mile Straight outside Antrim.

Speaking about the importance of the Loughbeg Road scheme, the South Antrim MLA said,

“I am delighted that after over three years of lobbying for strengthening and resurfacing on the Loughbeg Road in Moneyglass, this scheme of works is now underway.

“The Loughbeg Road is a busy rural road carrying a large volume of traffic in the form of cars, commercial and heavy goods vehicles, and school buses.

“I first raised the issue of significant carriageway subsidence with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in October 2021. At that time, I convened a site meeting with senior DfI officials and it was agreed that in light of the road’s condition a road strengthening scheme would be included in the Department’s 2022/23 programme. 

“Unfortunately, delivery in that financial year and up until now was held back due to major funding pressures within the Department. 

“Nevertheless, I continued to make representations for the agreed works to be implemented. These efforts have now resulted in this Ministerial announcement of a £237,000 capital investment in essential repairs and strengthening of the carriageway for approximately 1km from the Doon Road junction to No 53A Loughbeg Road.

“The programme is expected to last up until 17 March and will require the Loughbeg Road to be closed from 8am to 6pm daily, with signposted diversions in place; it will however reopen to traffic overnight and at weekends. 

“While some unavoidable, temporary inconvenience will be caused, I trust that the concerns of local residents and road users about the increasingly hazardous state of this section on Loughbeg Road will be finally addressed with completion of the repair programme. 

“The Loughbeg Road scheme comes just ahead of an extensive resurfacing programme for a section of the Seven Mile Straight outside Antrim, due to commence on 3 March and representing a further significant investment of £319,000. This project is expected to be substantially completed by 25 March.

“I and my colleagues in Sinn Féin have consistently prioritised rural road safety throughout South Antrim; I therefore want to thank the Minister and her DfI officials for these latest investments in our local roads network, and their commitment to deliver for all road users across my constituency.”