NOTE: Roads in Northern Ireland are managed by Roads Service, which is an agency within the Department for Regional Development (DRD) which is itself part of the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly. Currently (2007) the head of the DRD is Assembly Member Conor Murphy.

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Assembly ultimately decides road policy in NI. Good links to check out are:
Questions for Written Answer - these are questions asked of ministers by other Assembly Members and are often very local in nature. They are normally answered weekly. Look under "Regional Development" in each set for any roads-related questions.
Official Record (Hansard) - these are transcripts of debates. Each debate gives a list of topics discussed at the start, so you can check for topics of interest without having to read the whole thing.

Department for Regional Development

The department responsible for planning, transportation and water. See particularly:
Travelwise NI - Run by the Department for Regional Development, this site helps commuters explore alternative and sustainable transport methods, eg cycling, public transport and car sharing.

Press Releases - All press releases issued by the DRD, many of which are roads-related.

Roads Service of Northern Ireland

Roads Service is the part of the DRD that is specifically responsible for maintaining the existing road network, as well as building new roads. See particularly:

Road Improvements - An ancillary web site of Roads Service giving details of all current and forthcoming road building schemes in Northern Ireland.
TrafficWatch NI - Run by the Roads Service, gives up to the minute information on traffic jams and accidents across Northern Ireland, and in particular the greater Belfast area.

Northern Ireland Planning Service - Development Plans

Regional area plans for Northern Ireland, usually in PDF format, giving policy frameworks for the next ten years for roads, housing, public transport and all other land use policies.

Other Roads-Related Web Sites

SABRE (Society for All British Road Enthusiasts)

Portal site linking road enthusiasts across the UK, Ireland and further afield for sharing knowledge and roads-related chat. If you are interested in roads, then this is place for you!

CBRD (Chris's British Road Directory)

Fabulous site on all UK motorways and major A-class roads. Also includes future schemes, histories and futures. Provided the inspiration for this site.

Irish Roads / Bóithre na hÉireann

Site giving a collection of information and trivia about the main routes in the Republic of Ireland, with a summary of the road network in Northern Ireland too for reference.

UK Motorway Archive

History of motorways across the UK, including some very detailed pages on Northern Ireland. Much of the history on this site was sourced here.

Pathetic Motorways

Dedicated to those less-than-impressive motorways around the UK, including our very own A8(M)!