Pothole makes timely arrival

Transport NI were quick to fix the offending pothole. US1503-513cd Picture: Cliff Donaldson

The little blighter couldn’t have timed his arrival any better, popping up that very morning, last Thursday, outside the bus depot on Smithfield Street.

Alliance Councillor Stephen Martin found out about it the hard way, driving over (or into) it before alerting the Department for Rural Development.

Outside such a hub of public transport, it couldn’t have developed in a worse spot.

The Department for Regional Development revealed that the pothole arrived so suddenly due to earlier road works carried out on that spot.

“The defect (pothole) that developed overnight outside Lisburn bus station was the result of earlier work undertaken by NI Water,” said a DRD spokesperson, who was hopeful of a quick repair.

“It would appear that their reinstatement failed. TransportNI has already taken action to make the defect safe and NI Water is arranging to carry out a permanent repair over the next few days.

“The Department prioritises all defects and aims to repair or make safe over 90% of the most serious defects within five working days. Whilst we no longer have assistance from external contractors, our in-house teams are continuing to repair defects across Northern Ireland. Despite budget restrictions we are still meeting ninety percent within five days.”

DUP Councillor Alex Redpath was also on the ball to help get such a key area of Lisburn’s roads back up to full working order.

“I have been made aware of a pot hole that has developed overnight and have brought this to the attention of Transport NI,” he said. “I hope to have the situation resolved as soon as possible.

“It is part and parcel of the role of a councillor to assist the constituents with road repairs.

“I have been made aware of other potholes and defects on a regular basis and have been more than happy to assist with getting them fixed.”

A Kwik Fit employee, who works very close to the site of the pothole, warned the public to be careful to avoid damage to their tyres or their wheels.

Have a look at our National Pothole Day feature into Lisburn’s roads on page 18 to find out what the local public had to say.