The Minister, who made a site visit to the two road improvement schemes near Ballygawley to mark completion of the realignment works, said: "The schemes which have taken just over two years to complete and cost approximately £13million, will greatly improve journey times to the west and south for the travelling public. This will be of significant benefit to both local motorists and strategic traffic. The wider scheme has significant costs of £134million and shows a commitment to reversing decades of underinvestment in the west.
"This project continues to enjoy considerable local support from within the Dungannon area and is part of the ongoing strategy of improving the Strategic Road Network in the north.
"The A4 dual carriageway is scheduled for completion before March 2011 and to date works have been progressing in line with the scheduled programme."
Whilst every effort has been made to limit disruption to traffic during construction, Roads Service would like to thank the travelling public for their patience and the local community for their co-operation, during the course of the construction work.
The A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley Dualling Scheme involves upgrading approximately 20.5km of the partially realigned A4 between Dungannon and Ballygawley to high quality dual carriageway standard, incorporating a number of fly-over type junctions and central median safety barrier.
Improvements to the A4 at Annaghilla will involve a 3.8km realignment of the A4 single carriageway route between Ballygawley and Augher, including an additional lane to provide an overtaking opportunity for east bound travellers.
Improvements to the A5 at Tullyvar will include a 3.1km realignment of the A5 single carriageway route between Ballygawley and Aughnacloy, including head-to-head climbing lanes either side of Tullyvar Hill.
Notes to editors:
- The Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Package 2 contract, includes the A1 Beechill to Cloghogue Dualling and the A1 Junction Improvements schemes with a combined capital value of £182million.
- The contract also includes the operation and maintenance of the M1 Motorway from Sprucefield to Dungannon, the A4 from Dungannon to Ballygawley and the A1 from Sprucefield to the border for 30 years.
- Roads Service’s DBFO Package 2 contract was awarded to Amey Lagan Roads Limited, a consortium formed by Amey Ventures Limited and Whitemountain Investments Limited. Construction works will be carried out by a joint venture of Lagan Construction Limited and Ferrovial Agroman (Ireland) Limited. Maintenance services will be provided by Amey Infrastructure Services Limited.
- The necessary statutory procedures, including publication of the Direction Order, the Environmental Statement and the vesting procedure, to assemble the necessary land for the scheme, began in December 2005. Public Inquiries were held in March 2006, with the Vesting and Direction Orders operative in February 2007.
- Media queries to: Department for Regional Development, Press Office, Tel: 028 9054 0372. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
