City's roadworks scheme defended
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8571924.stm Version 0 of 1. The manager of Belfast city centre has defended a £30m roadworks scheme which has been criticised by pedestrians. There has been public anger at the disruption caused by barriers in Royal Avenue and Donegall Place as a result of the Belfast Streets Ahead project. The scheme, which began in 2008, will not be completed until the end of 2010. Belfast city centre boss Andrew Irvine described the 14 street project as "complex" and said "you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs". "We always said from the start that this was going to be difficult," he added. "Digging up 14 streets in your city centre is going to cause inconvenience, that's the reality of it. "The project is on time and is on schedule, it is not running late in any way, it will be completed by the end of this year." Mr Irvine said the work was not just about resurfacing streets, but about renewing utilities which were underground so as to minimise future disruption. "It is actually going three metres underground, lifting utilities and replacing utilities and future proofing that network, that spaghetti maze," he said. "Things that are below the street from telephone lines to sewerage, gas, you name it, that is all being sorted out and future proofed. "It is minimising the number of times the street will have to be dug up in the future." |