Right on Rhammer:
If in the winter this is improvement then in the summer it must be destruction.
Political parlance for maintaining status quo and making it sound as achieving something for the people.
That news release was nothing but empty air.

It may be too much of an expenditure at once to build an all year road to the Ring, or anywhere else in the North. But they could build smaller sections every year from community to community, thus spreading the cost over many years. As stated, such a road would diminish living costs to the people connected by such road and thus funds to such communities could be correspondingly diminished to partly pay for the cost of the road as it is built.
But pethaps that requires too heavy thinking for mere politicians.
Status quo remains.