£60m spent on local roads

An average of 5.5million was spent by Roads Service each year from 2005 on operation and maintenance.

Expenditure on capital schemes dipped from 9,165,000 in 2005/6 to 3,754,000 in 2006/7 before rising again to 8,492,000 in 2007/8 and then up to 19,397,000 in 2008/9.

A total of 22,309,000 was spent maintaining the roads and a total of 40,808,000 building the roads over the same period.

Roads Minister Conor Murphy detailed the spending figures in response to a query at the Stormont Assembly.

He stated: "Roads Service expenditure on Operation and Maintenance, includes Structural Maintenance, Highways Structures, Routine Maintenance, Traffic Maintenance, Winter Maintenance, Street Lighting Maintenance, Car Parking Maintenance and EU schemes.

"I should also explain that Roads Service does not simply split its total budget for capital expenditure on roads across all the District Council areas.

"Major road improvements are prioritised on a countrywide basis, taking account of a broad range of criteria such as strategic planning policy, traffic flow, number of accidents, potential for reducing travel times, environmental impact, accessibility and value for money.

"While the actual spend on a major works scheme may be within one District Council area, the benefits of such schemes are not confined to the District Council, constituency or county in which they are completed."