Key points
Road Length
- At 1 April 2023, the total road length in Northern Ireland was
25,858 kilometres.
- Unclassified roads accounted for the largest proportion of all roads
(61.1%) followed by C roads (18.3%), B roads (11.3%), A roads (8.9%) and
Motorways (0.4%).
- Analysis of the urban / rural split of the road network reveals that
77.2% of carriageway road lengths were rural (speed limit of more than
40 mph) and 22.8% of carriageway road lengths were urban (speed limit of
40 mph or less).
Road Condition
- In 2022-23, 82.6% of A class roads in Northern Ireland were
categorised as being in generally good condition according to the
Surface Condition Assessment for the National Network of Roads (SCANNER)
survey. Two percent of A class roads were in poor condition requiring
further investigation.
- In 2022-23, the Deflectograph survey found that 93.8% of the
combined motorway and Trunk Road Network had a residual life of more
than five years remaining in the sub structure of the road i.e. the base
of the road and not the surface of the road.
- In 2022-23, there were 100,487 surface defects instructed following
inspections on the roads in Northern Ireland.
- In 2022-23, there were 84,900 surface defects repaired.
Road Expenditure
- In 2022-23, the total expenditure on the roads in Northern Ireland
was £441 million, 7.5% lower than in the previous year (£477 million in
2021-22).
- Of the total expenditure on roads in 2022-23, £127 million was spent
on Structural Maintenance; this included £111 million on capital
expenditure and £16 million spent on resource. A further £66 million was
spent on New Construction and Improvement.
Infographic
Introduction
This report brings together information on road length, condition and
expenditure in Northern Ireland for 2019/20 to 2022/23. This is a new
official statistics report produced by the Analysis, Statistics and
Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI). DfI
has responsibility for the road network in Northern Ireland and under Article
8 of the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993, it has a statutory
duty to maintain the province’s road network. This report has been
produced in accordance with the Code
of Practice for Statistics, complying with the pillars of
Trustworthiness, Quality and Value and it will be published
annually.
Background
A Northern Ireland Audit Office Report Structural
Maintenance of the Road Network made a number of recommendations,
including, that DfI should publish information on the condition of the
road network to support independent monitoring and inform
decision-making. A survey previously carried out on Northern
Ireland Transport Statistics also identified an interest in the road
network statistics formerly produced within Chapter 1 of the Transport
Statistics bulletin. Furthermore, the volume of queries received by DfI
relating to the road network highlighted that there is a need to publish
robust statistics on the road length, condition and expenditure in
Northern Ireland.
Uses of the data
It is anticipated that this report will be used for a range of
purposes, for example, to inform policy and operational decision making
and to respond to queries. Following publication of the report, a user
engagement survey will be carried out to identify further uses of the
data.
User information
The report includes user guidance and is published alongside a
Background Quality Report (BQR),
Quality Assurance of Administrative Data report (QAAD)
and Technical
Report. The BQR
provides information on the quality of the data used to produce the
official statistics, including their accuracy and reliability, coherence
and comparability, and timeliness and punctuality. The QAAD
is a quality assessment of the administrative data sources which are
used to produce the road network and condition statistics. This
assessment found that the level of risk of quality concerns in these
sources is low. The Technical
Report includes detail on the more technical aspects of the data
used to produce this statistical report.
Users should refer to the user guidance section
when considering the statistics in this report. In terms of road
condition statistics, it is important to note that not all road classes
are covered by the road condition surveys reported and that the level of
inspections on the roads will impact the number of road surface defects
detected. The number of surface defects repaired is also dependent upon
resources being available to undertake the repairs. More detail on the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Road Condition statistics is
detailed in the user guidance.
Road Condition
In Northern Ireland, the condition of the road is expressed in a
broad number of ways and by a number of various survey techniques. The
road condition statistics in this report are based on two key surveys:
SCANNER (Surface Condition Assessment for the National Network of Roads)
and Deflectograph. Further detail on these surveys is provided in the user guidance and in the Technical
report.
Data on surface defects instructed and repaired are also included in
this report; these are downloaded from the Road Maintenance Client
System (RMCS) and further information on these data can be found in the
user guidance and in the QAAD.
SCANNER
SCANNER (Surface Condition Assessment for the National Network of
Roads) is a nationally accredited survey and is undertaken under
contract. It consists of a number of laser sensors mounted on a
purpose-built vehicle. It travels at close to traffic speed and measures
the condition of the road in terms of a number of parameters including
the extent of surface cracking, ride quality, wheel-track rutting and
alignment. The SCANNER survey is undertaken annually on the majority of
road classes; including: 100% of the Trunk Road Network (TRN) and A
class network in one direction each year, with the opposite direction
being surveyed the following year; and on 25% of the B & C Class
network each survey year in both directions. Official statistics from
the SCANNER survey are not currently available for unclassified
roads.
A map of the TRN can be found below, and
additional maps of the road network are available on the DfI
website.
The outputs from the SCANNER are combined to produce a Road Condition
Index (RCI) which is the industry standard measure for road condition
currently in use. An RCI greater than 100 (classified as being red)
indicates poor road conditions and a requirement to plan maintenance
soon; an RCI between 40 and 100 (classified as being amber) suggests the
road is in average condition and should be investigated soon; and an RCI
less than 40 (classified as being green) means the road is in good
condition.
The most recent SCANNER survey carried out in 2022-23, showed that
82.6% of A roads were categorised as green, 15.4% were considered to be
in average condition while 2.0% were classed as red, in poor condition
and requiring maintenance. These statistics are broadly in line with the
SCANNER survey results for the previous years with just a slight
increase in the proportion of A roads categorised as green (80.9% in
2019-20) and a slight decrease in the proportion of A roads considered
to be in poor condition (2.4% in 2019-20). In terms of B and C class
roads, a similar pattern has emerged with a slight increase in the
proportion of roads in good condition and a slight decrease in the
proportion in those classified as red and needing maintenance. However,
the percentage of B and C class roads categorised as red and needing
maintenance is higher than the level for A class roads with 3.1% of B
class roads and 4.3% of C class roads considered to be in poor condition
in 2022-23.
Deflectograph
Deflectograph surveys are carried out by an accredited slow-moving
vehicle that measures the deflections of the roads surface under defined
loading and uses this information to calculate the residual life of the
road and the need for structural repairs; essentially this survey
assesses the structural integrity of a roads base and natural
foundations. Currently Deflectograph surveys are carried out on one
third of motorway, TRN and non-trunk A roads each year in NI. The survey
provides a percentage of roads which have more than five years residual
life remaining in the road structure, and it is recommended by the
Department (DfI) that this figure should be above 85%.
Over the past four years being reported (2019-20 to 2022-23), over
85% of all motorway, TRN and non-Trunk A roads had a residual life of
more than five years remaining. The statistics for the most recent year
(2022-23) show that 93.8% of the combined motorway and TRN had a
residual life of more than five years remaining.
Surface defects instructed and repaired
Data on surface defects instructed and repaired are derived from the
Road Maintenance Client System (RMCS). More detailed information on this
system can be found in the user guidance and in the QAAD.
These data only relate to carriageways, hard shoulders and laybys; data
on footways and maintained laneways are not included. Surface defects do
not include defects such as white lining, deflective signage etc.
Surface defects are recorded on the RMCS following safety and
condition inspections being undertaken on the roads by DfI staff, the
level of inspections on the roads will impact the number of road surface
defects detected. When a repair is carried out, RMCS is updated to
reflect that a surface defect has been repaired. It should be noted that
defects repaired in one financial year may have been reported in a
previous financial year and there may be a lag between a repair being
carried out and the RMCS being updated. The number of surface defects
repaired is also dependent upon resources being available to undertake
the repairs.
Figure 6 shows that in 2022-23, there were 100,487 surface defects
instructed in Northern Ireland. This was a decrease of 3,610 (3.5%) when
compared to 2019-20 (104,097). There were 84,900 surface defects
repaired in 2022-23, a decrease of 12,511 (12.8%) when compared to
2019-20 (97,411). The number of surface defects instructed and repaired
was lowest in 2020-21 when there were restrictions in place in Northern
Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More detail on the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on the statistics is detailed in the user guidance.
User Guidance
Data Quality
Readers can find out more information on the quality of the
statistics in this report by accessing the Background Quality Report (BQR).
The BQR
informs users about the quality of the information upon which they may
be drawing conclusions and making decisions. A Quality Assurance of
Administrative Data (QAAD)
report is also available. This contains information on the quality of
the administrative data that is included in the Northern Ireland Road
Network and Condition Statistics report. It covers a quality assessment
of the data on road length and on surface defects instructed and
repaired (all within the Road Maintenance Client System (RMCS)) and on
public expenditure on NI roads (Account NI). These are the
administrative data sources which are used to produce the ‘Northern
Ireland Road Network and Condition Statistics’ report. The assessment
found that the level of risk of quality concerns in these sources is low
and that the public interest is low. Readers should also refer to the Technical
Report for more detail on road condition surveys.
Road Length
The data relates to the length of DfI maintained roads each year at 1
April. The data are collected from RMCS which is managed by DfI, more
details on the quality of this data can be found in the QAAD.
Road classifications
Motorway - A normally dual carriageway road designed for higher speed
traffic with designated places for joining and leaving.
Trunk Road Network (TRN) - Motorways and all-purpose trunk roads
owned by DfI who have responsibility for maintenance and operation.
These are strategic roads with a high proportion of long-distance
traffic although some trunk roads may also have lengths, with the same
number, designated as an ‘A’ principal road, where traffic is
predominantly local in nature.
A roads - major roads intended to provide large-scale transport links
within or between areas.
B roads - roads intended to connect different areas, and to feed
traffic between A roads and smaller roads on the network.
C roads - smaller roads intended to connect together unclassified
roads with A and B roads.
Unclassified roads - local roads intended for local traffic.
Maps showing the network by each road classification can be found on
the DfI
website
Route kms and Carriageway kms
Route kms is the distance between two points on the road network,
regardless of whether the section is motorway or dual carriageway.
Whereas carriageway kms is the sum of the lengths of each carriageway of
a dual or motorway section.
Exclusions from Road Length figures
Figures for Motorways exclude slip road lengths. Stretches for car
parks and footpaths are also excluded from the figures.
Local Government District (LGD)
It should be noted that LGD boundaries do not coincide exactly with
boundaries used by DfI for road maintenance purposes.
Road Condition
In Northern Ireland road condition is expressed in a broad number of
ways and by a number of various survey techniques, including SCANNER and
Deflectograph. Surface Defects instructed and repaired are also included
in this report
SCANNER
The Department collects data from SCANNER surveys, this is a vehicle
mounted survey used to collect a wide range of data on the condition of
the roads, from cracking to rutting to edge condition. This is used on
all roads, except unclassified roads.
Road surface condition categories are based on multiple parameters
collected by SCANNER machines and scored against different definitions
for different types of roads. This is so that maintenance is prioritised
for roads that are more frequently used. This means that the proportion
of ‘red’ roads is not comparable across road classes (for example, “A”,
“B” and “C”). For example, an ‘A’ road categorised as red could be in
identical condition to a ‘B’ road categorised as amber. See Technical
Report for more details.
Deflectograph
The Deflectograph is a method of assessing road conditions and is a
vehicle operated survey machine. This expresses data as residual life
remaining in the sub structure of a road i.e., the base of the road and
not the surface of a road. In Northern Ireland this technique is used on
the Trunk Road Network (TRN) and the remaining A Roads (see Technical
Report for more details).
Surface Defects
Instructed and Repaired
Data on surface defects instructed and repaired are derived from the
Road Maintenance Client System (RMCS). More detailed information on this
system can be found in the QAAD.
Instructed - These include details of the number of carriageway, hard
shoulder and layby surface defects (which includes potholes, cracking,
depressions etc.) that were recorded and listed for repair in the
reporting period.
Repaired – These include details of the number of carriageway, hard
shoulder and layby surface defects (which includes potholes, cracking,
depressions etc.) that have been repaired.
Classification of defects
Users should note that each defect is prioritised dependant on the
severity and risk to the public according to the following
classification (more detail is available in the technical
report: -
- R 0 – Repair or make safe as soon as practical
- R 1 – Repair or make safe before the end of the next calendar
day
- R 2 – Repair or make safe within five working days
- R 3 – Only Defects on low traffic, rural roads and medium and low
traffic (high risk) footways to be repaired within four weeks
- R 4 – Repair during the next available programme or by target
response time as specified, or review condition at next inspection.
The surface defect figures in this report cover defects that are
classified as either R 1, R 2 or R 3. R3 defects which have not yet met
intervention levels and are not yet recorded as per the definition above
and R4 defects are not included in this report. Users should also note
that surface defects are only included in this report following an
inspection by DfI.
Surface defect data were downloaded from RMCS on 17th October
2023.
The Department does not maintain defect statistics specifically in
relation to potholes. Highway inspectors in the Department can only
record one defect category for each area needing repair. Defects are
categorised according to their predominant feature; so if an inspector
felt that the cracking was the predominant feature it would be recorded
as cracking. It is for this reason that the Department does not work on
the basis of potholes but on the number of surface defects.
Effect of time lag on recording of surface
defects
Due to the varying times associated with surface defects being
recorded, the numbers of defects instructed in any given year are not
directly comparable with the number of defects repaired. For example, a
defect could have been instructed in March 2020 but not have been
repaired until April 2020. Readers should also note that there can be a
time lag between a repair being carried out and the associated records
being updated in the Department’s maintenance management system. As a
result, the figures provided for the number of defects repaired in the
most recent year are being monitored and will be reviewed prior to
publication of the next report.
Limited road maintenance service
Since 2021/22, the Department has faced a significant budget
shortfall. The available opening budget for 2021/22 was approximately
half the amount required to deliver a ‘normal’ maintenance service. As a
result of budget shortfalls, a limited service model has been in place.
This meant that the Department repaired only the highest priority
defects along with the highest priority, safety related maintenance.
Impact of COVID-19
During the time of COVID-19, many restrictions were brought into
force to try and reduce the rate of transmission. DfI’s response to this
was the implementation of the Safe System of Work 24 (SSW24) policy that
was issued by the Department’s Health and Safety section. This detailed
several requirements which had to be observed and met. One of these
which impacted the Department’s ability to deliver Road Condition
surveys was the “Travelling in and use of vehicles” where it stated,
“Only one member of staff should travel in each DfI / private vehicle,
unless 2m separation can be achieved”. This had an impact on the timing
of the Deflectograph survey as seating within the Deflectograph vehicle
was closer than the 2.0 m permitted. Once restrictions were eased
sufficiently and SSW24 withdrawn, the surveys were carried out as
before. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a similar effect on normal
cyclical safety inspections, as well as repairs carried out on the road
network in Northern Ireland. This was due to restrictions in place
surrounding social distancing, members of staff affected by COVID-19
(isolating), use of work vehicles and work premises and supply chain
interruptions.
Road Expenditure
Data on public expenditure on NI Roads are recorded by DfI staff on
the Account NI system. End of year information on public expenditure is
used to produce the annual accounts which are approved and audited by
the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO). See QAAD
for more details.
Categories of Public Expenditure
Public expenditure data on the Roads in Northern Ireland are
classified according to the following categories: -
• New construction and improvement - this includes major and minor
capital road schemes, land costs, street lighting - new installations,
sustainable travel schemes such as cycling and pedestrian measures, park
& share and improvements to structures such as bridge
strengthening.
• Structural Maintenance-Capital - this includes resurfacing and
reconstruction, asphalt patching, surface dressing, capital investment
in drainage infrastructure and capital investment in the structural
stability of embankments.
• Structural Maintenance-Resource - this includes patching of
carriageway and footways.
• Highway Structures - this includes maintenance of bridges and
retaining walls.
• Routine Maintenance - this includes environmental maintenance
(grass cutting, weed control, tree maintenance etc.), gully emptying and
cleaning, fencing and minor repairs to embankments, cuttings and
verges.
• Traffic Maintenance - this includes road markings, safety fences
& guardrails, energy to illuminate traffic signs and signals and
maintenance of traffic signs and signals.
• Winter Maintenance - this includes salting and snow clearance.
• Public Lighting - this includes maintenance and energy.
• Park & Ride/Share Sites - note that this does not include the
cost of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement.
• Other - this is expenditure which is not detailed in the categories
above such as some administration overheads, liability costs, payments
to the Departments Public-Private Partners (PPP) for their Operating and
Lifecycle costs linked to maintaining the road network lengths
constructed by them through Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO)
arrangements, road drainage charge from Northern Ireland Water,
contractual costs associated with Enforcement of Parking and Moving
Traffic offences, purchases of Fleet, IT and other Plant Property and
Equipment (PPE) and Active Travel Grants (e.g. Greenway Grants).
Further information on the reasons for changes in the public
expenditure figures between years is highlighted below.
The New Construction and Improvement spend has increased from 2019-20
due to strategic road improvements between Randalstown and Derry.
However, from 2022-23 spend has reduced due to these road improvements
being in their final stages.
Structural maintenance: Outturns will have been determined by budget
availability and capacity in any given year. In recent years, capacity
to deliver was impacted by legal challenges associated with resurfacing
contracts. For comparative purposes the impact of COVID-19 restrictions
in the early months of 2020-21 deflated the spend in that year
Winter maintenance: 2020-21 reflects snow events in January and also
the expenditure impact of COVID-19 related safe systems of work, this
explains the increased spend from previous years. Spend dropped again in
2021-22 due to a mild winter. Winter maintenance: Expenditure in any
given year will have variations due to the severity of weather in that
year, as well as increases in treated km lengths of the network and
exceptional items such as COVID-19 measures.
Public lighting and traffic: Energy for traffic signs and signals
plus public lighting have been impacted by increased gas prices from
2021-22.
Code of Practice
This report is published in line with the Code of Practice for
Statistics. It complies with the pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and
Value. Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for
Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness,
quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all
producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to
contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Guidance on using the data
Rounding of figures
All calculations have been undertaken on the basis of unrounded
figures.
A number of tables contain rounded data and therefore there may be a
slight discrepancy between the total and the sum of the constituent
items.
Revisions Policy The data presented in this bulletin
are revised by exception; therefore, any revisions to the figures in
this report will typically be as a result of definitional changes or
corrections to errors and the impact will be quantified where possible.
However, as noted, the data for the most recent year relating to surface
defects instructed and repaired will be reviewed prior to the next
publication and a decision will then be taken if a revision is required.
This is due to the time lag in recording surface defects on the RMCS.
The Revisions and Errors Policy for statistics produced by DfI is
available on the DfI Website.
Accessibility Accessibility is the ease with which
users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format in which
the data are available and the availability of supporting information.
This publication is published in HTML format and every effort has been
made to comply with the AA standard under the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. If any document is not in a format that meets
your needs, please contact ASRB with your requirements. This statistical
report and associated documents are available to download free of
charge.