Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has announced a new 'technology-forward' approach to the maintenance of its £26bn, 25,922km road network, with Gaist appointed to carry out the first digital survey of its entire road network.
This digital stock-take of Northern Ireland's road network will give the DfI ‘detailed condition assessments' that can be used to identify areas requiring immediate attention and plan future data-driven investment decisions, the department said.
The Gaist survey is part of plans for the department to use more modern technologies and greater use of automation for inspections, which it hopes will allow the organisation to work faster and make better maintenance decisions, as well as avoid ‘spreading resources too thinly'.
Alongside this new approach to road condition monitoring, the draft Road Maintenance Strategy sets out a fresh focus on three principles: higher quality maintenance, targeted maintenance and sustainable maintenance.
Futureproofing is also central to this new approach, with maintenance of active travel routes being given greater priority, and it also hopes to reduce the department's carbon footprint so that maintenance can be done in a more environmentally sustainable manner.
The department also highlighted its aim of producing a new resilient road network plan, which will allow the DfI to ‘determine the durability of the road network' and give it the ability to ensure its ‘continued use or swift recovery during and after adverse weather events'.
Ms Kimmens said: ‘It has become apparent over recent years of the necessity to develop a new approach to how the road network is maintained. We will be targeting our resources where they are needed most and using new technology such as digital surveys to assess road conditions to deliver a sustainable service that meets the future needs of road users.'
