Mid-Tyrone SDLP Councillor Seamus Shields has welcomed plans by DRD Roads Service to undertake the surface dressing of more than 40km of rural roads in the area.
The programme of repair includes Drumnakilly Road, Crockanbuoy Road, Creggan Road, Donaghanie Road, Loughmacrory Road and Greencastle Road and will be carried out over the next financial year.
According to Mr Shields, a report to be presented at a special meeting of Omagh District Council by the Western Roads Service Divisional Manager states that surface dressing is a “cost effective treatment that re-seals the road surface to prevent the ingress of water that could freeze and completely break up the surfaceâ€.
Mr Shields said: “This vindicates my earlier stance that surface dressing would have prevented the spate of potholes which appeared in many of the rural roads of Mid-Tyrone when there were numerous complaints about accidents and damage to vehicles.
“Roads Service has now admitted that the pothole epidemic has been caused by the freeze/thaw phenomenon caused by ingress of water.
“Clearly, a programme of surface dressing would have prevented this, as the Roads Service now seems to admit.
“I will be putting pressure on Roads Service to extend this programme to other roads, particularly those in the Beragh and Sixmilecross areas, where the condition of many of the roads remains unacceptable, despite the laying of some stretch of Bitmac dressing in some of the worst affected areas, including Beragh Main Street.â€