STRANGFORD DUP Assembly candidate Simon Hamilton has welcomed the resurfacing of a section of the main A24 Ballynahinch to Belfast Road. The £185,000 investment in a 700m stretch of the road was confirmed to Mr Hamilton in an Assembly question. Commenting on the news, Mr Hamilton said, “I very much welcome this £185,000 spend on upgrading to what is a small, nearly 1km long stretch of the A24 Ballynahinch to Belfast road at the Lakeview lay-by. It may be only a small section but any investment that upgrades our roads infrastructure is a positive development. “Not only is there huge volumes of commuting traffic which uses this road day in and day out, but it is essential for local business that our roads are of a high standard so that goods can be transported as efficient as possible. Our area is also popular with tourists and good transport links are important for visitors too. [caption id="attachment_20141" align="alignleft" width="223" caption="Strangford MLA Simon Hamilton has welcomed the road investment to the A24 near Ballynahinch. "][/caption] “I will continue to lobby DRD Roads Service in the future for further investment in this important main road and hope that they will continue their upgrade work”. In the Assembly, Mr hamilton had asked the Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy, to clarify what resurfacing work has been carried out and what work is planned to be carried out on the A24 Ballynahinch to Belfast road in this financial year. He aslo inquired about the total cost of the works. Minister Murphy said that his Department’s Roads Service has just completed the resurfacing of a 700 metre stretch of the A24 Ballynahinch to Belfast Road at the Lakeview lay-by. This work, which involved the resurfacing of the carriageway and hard-shoulders, was completed on Friday 25th February 2011 at an estimated cost of approximately £185,000. ]]>