A5 road project to get green light from Stormont ministers

Stormont ministers are expected to approve the long-awaited A5 road project later today, the BBC has learned.

An official announcement from Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd is expected after an executive meeting this afternoon.

It is understood he will confirm that work on the project will start and will be completed on a phased basis.

But it is not clear if the plan will include a full dual carriageway from Londonderry to the border at Aughnacloy.

The 58-mile (85km) road project was first announced in 2007 but has been beset by funding and legal challenges.

Last week, O’Dowd confirmed that the preparatory work had been completed and he was just awaiting executive approval before publishing the plan.

He said his recommendation to approve the project was based on improving road safety for all those who travel along the route.

Campaigners have been lobbying for the new road for some time and have pointed to the fact that 54 lives have been lost on the A5 since 2007.

One of them was for Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash on the A5 earlier this year.

The A5 is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network. It has more than 200 side roads connecting to it.

The road is single carriageway for most of its length, with overtaking lanes in some sections.

It links Londonderry with Aughnacloy in County Tyrone and passes through towns like Sion Mills, Omagh and Strabane.

It connects with the A4 road, linking to Belfast via the M1.

It is also the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.

The road has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, with the exception of some town bypasses, but there has been a huge increase in the number of cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles using it since it was first built.

Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone.

An increase of about 30% is forecast over the next 25 years.

The proposed dual carriageway has faced opposition since it was first announced.

It has been criticized by the campaign group, the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A).

Comprised of farmers, landowners and others with an interest in the County Tyrone area, the group was launched in 2009 to oppose the compulsory purchase of land to construct the road.

It has also raised environmental issues around the project.

The group argued that safety improvements can be made to the current road, such as widening sections to allow for safer overtaking.

And it raised a number of planning objections and legal challenges over the years.