Pothole complaints mounting in village

Cllr Baxter said the Steps Road in particular is ‘like the waves of Troy’.

The DUP man said: “As a an elected representative in the area I am constantly contacted about potholes in roads and cracks in pavements etc, but the amount of complaints I have received about the Steps Road in Magherlin is unprecedented .

“One resident commented the road is like a ‘picked scab’,” said Cllr Baxter.

“Along with party colleagues I went to have a look for myself and I was taken aback as to how bad the road is.

“The stretch is particularly bad in front of the primary school which in itself is a health and safety concern. Residents are also concerned as to the impact it will have on their vehicles,” he said.

“The Lurgan DUP team have written to the department asking for urgent action to be taken.

“Rural roads in the borough really are not up to the standard that people here expect or deserve and as a party we will continue to lobby on these issues,” said Cllr Baxter.

Meanwhile SDLP Councillor Declan McAlinden told the Mail that the Castor’s Bay Road in Lurgan was ‘a disgrace’ it was so full of potholes.

He said the North Circular Road was working well since it had been resurfaced, however there is huge disappointment about the state of the Castor’s Bay Road. He is set to contact the Road Service about the matter.

A DRD Roads Service spokeswoman said: “The Steps Road in Magheralin is a high priority for Roads Service and we are keen to start full resurfacing as soon as possible.

“This work had already been programmed to be completed this financial year and in fact preparatory works for this resurfacing actually had started on site when Roads Service was informed that a Utility developer needed to lay a new sewer which would mean excavating through the Steps Road. Roads Service delayed the works in order to prevent a utility excavating through a newly resurfaced road.

“Local representatives are aware of this issue and Roads Service will keep them updated.

“Roads Service is currently waiting for confirmation of the timing of the sewer excavation work and once this is known the resurfacing will progress as soon as possible. In the meantime any surface defects identified through Roads Service normal maintenance inspections will continue to be repaired.”

The DRD pointed out that there is no restriction on the budget for repairing potholes in Craigavon . “The amount of work undertaken in this regard is governed by Roads Service established criteria for surface defects identified as needing repaired.”