The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in Northern Ireland has partnered with mapping specialist Gaist to undertake what’s described as a pioneering digital stock-take of the road network.
The mapping project will survey Northern Ireland’s roads in granular detail and forms part of a bid to more efficiently tackle potholes and other defects on the roads amid Northern Ireland’s funding and resources crunch.
According to Gaist, the move will give Northern Ireland “the most understood road network in the world”.
“Over the next six months, we will use our HD imagery, advanced AI processing, and proprietary roadscape intelligence technology to capture a comprehensive ‘digital twin’ of every road in Northern Ireland to an extraordinary level of detail,” Gaist said in a statement on 3 December.
Gaist’s methodology will generate billions of data points on carriageway and footway condition by mapping the extent of every visible defect, from minor cracks to large potholes. It will also chart the precise location of footways, cycleways, and associated road assets, including signage, manhole covers, lamp posts, and verges.
Gaist’s statement said: “The value of deeper, more accurate information to support intelligent road maintenance is widely recognised. This comprehensive survey will transform DfI’s ability to plan effectively which is especially significant given that the total expenditure on Northern Ireland roads was £466M in 2024-25, with £136M allocated to Structural Maintenance alone.”
The initiative intends to deliver long term value through prioritised maintenance – identifying and ranking urgent repairs based on objective data; lifecycle modelling – providing clear long-term projections of how the network will perform under different investment scenarios, and optimisation – helping DfI maximise investment, reduce the carbon impact from maintenance, and optimise asset safety and lifespan.
Roads Maintenance Strategy consultation
This week also saw DfI open a consultation on a new draft Roads Maintenance Strategy on 3 December.
On publication of the strategy, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins outlined that the strategy are three strands: higher quality maintenance, targeted maintenance and sustainable maintenance.
The strategy document states: “We are committed to raising the standard of maintenance across the network, ensuring that interventions are timely, durable, and delivered to consistently high specifications. This will reduce long-term costs, improve user experience, and enhance safety.
“Resources will be directed where they are needed most. We will use new technology to collect more data on the condition of the network for more informed risk assessments, and decision making. This approach ensures that maintenance is prioritised effectively, delivering best value and reducing disruption.
“We will embed environmental sustainability into our practices, using low-carbon materials where appropriate, and designing interventions that are resilient to climate change. This supports our broader commitments to net zero and environmental stewardship. Equally it is about financial sustainability and ensuring that we invest in our infrastructure assets for the wider benefit of all.”
Tech-driven targeted maintenance investment would form a core element of the roadmap.
“We will use modern technology to direct our investments where they are needed most, ensuring smarter maintenance decisions. Technology will play a bigger role in automating inspections, helping us work faster and more efficiently as we assess road conditions and to use that data to guide better choices.
“In the short term, this will involve trialling new technology and the development of baselining and decision-making tools. In the longer term, we will develop an improved suite of condition analytics and refine how decisions are made across our operational teams, while making use of emerging digital solutions to develop tools for predictive maintenance.”
“We will develop a more targeted approach to structural maintenance informed by the collection and analysis of detailed road condition data.”
The consultation opened on 2 December and runs until 30 January.
Tightening budgets
DfI allocated £68M for structural road maintenance within its overall £917M final capital budget for the 2025-26 financial year, for essential resurfacing and integrity works. However, critics have highlighted the need for more funding to fully maintain the network.
In November, Mineral Products Association Northern Ireland (MPANI) warned that Northern Ireland’s road network had reached a critical point, with dangerously low levels of maintenance funding and staff shortages within the DfI jeopardising safety and the NI economy.
MPANI Regional Director Gordon Best said: “The situation has reached breaking point. Years of underinvestment, combined with a loss of experienced staff, mean that our road network is literally crumbling faster than it can be repaired. The safety of road users, the efficiency of our transport system, and the competitiveness of our economy are all being put at risk.”
Best noted: ‘The levels of road structural maintenance funding of £68M being proposed for this coming year are truly shocking. In real terms, allowing for inflation, it takes us back to levels of spend last seen in the late ’90s.”
Like what you’ve read? To receive New Civil Engineer’s daily and weekly newsletters click here.
