Incompetent Roads Service

Every time I drive along most main roads in greater Belfast and County Down these days, I encounter innumerable pot-holes and sunken man-hole covers; uneven surfaces caused by the shoddy workmanship of utility companies, too.

Someone must bear responsibility, not to add liability, for the poor road surfaces in the Province: Roads NI.

They allow businesses like the Water Service, BT, Phoenix Gas, Virgin cable, NI Electricity and others to dig up our roads without satisfactory reinstatement to previous standards; consequently, a few years later, the tarmac disintegrates.

As far as expensively paved pedestrian zones are concerned, no sooner do the Roads Service spend a fortune of taxpayers' money on re-laying them, than a gang of squaddies from a utility company digs part of it up and throws costly, polished granite slabs in the back of their lorry. The Roads Service's utter and pathetic incompetence is responsible for this; and their total lack of follow-up inspections.

I cannot finish without mentioning those wretched humps which are appearing everywhere. This is simply another case of responsible drivers being affected while the Roads Service ruins our roads in an attempt to slow down imbeciles.

I was unopposed to humps until now; our roads are being overwhelmed by them.

It is about time that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly got to grips with the terrible state of our roads and, as Americans say, kicked some ass.