Delays continue to beset the proposed upgrade of the A5 route in Northern Ireland. Environmental concerns have triggered environmental objections to the project, causing the delays. The £1.5 billion project was proposed as far back as 2007 and the plans call for the road, which features a single lane in either direction, to be upgraded to dual carriageway status with two lanes in either direction as well as a central reservation.
The aim of the project is to provide 85km of new A5 from south of Londonderry at New Buildings to the border at Aughnacloy, which includes around 82km of dual carriageway. The work is needed as the A5 has an unenviable record for road safety, having suffered several fatalities in recent decades. However, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has to delay several infrastructure projects, including the A5 upgrade. This follows a tangled legal battle in the Northern Irish courts, with objections against the A5 widening project claiming the work would hinder net-zero targets under the Climate Change (Northern Ireland) Act 2022.
According to the DfI, the A5 Western Transport Corridor is one of five key transport corridors identified in the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland. Its improvement represents is key to improving links between the urban centres of Londonderry, Strabane, Omagh and Aughnacloy and boosting connections to the North-West.
