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Minister announces Preferred Route for A2 Ballykelly Bypass

Friday, 26 March 2010

Transport Minister, Conor Murphy today announced the preferred route for the proposed A2 Ballykelly Bypass.

The Minister said: "This project will provide significant benefits in terms of improving safety and journey time reliability on the A2 between Derry and Coleraine, and provide a significant environmental improvement to the village of Ballykelly."

“The preferred route is 4.2km of dual carriageway that passes Ballykelly to the south of the village. A proposed junction at the Loughermore Road will provide access to and from the dual carriageway.

“This project is part of an overall strategy to improve the Key Transport Corridors across the north.”

The announcement is the culmination of a thorough assessment of various route options within the preferred (southern) corridor. Each of the routes were assessed against the government’s five key objectives for transport: Environment, Safety, Economy, Accessibility and Integration.

The Minister added: “This assessment work was brought forward to identify the preferred route and the land requirements for the scheme, following the decision to dispose of lands at Shackleton Barracks by the Ministry of Defence.”

Delivery of this project is not planned until the end of the Investment Strategy period (2017/2018) and consequently it is not planned to commence the next stage of the assessment procedure until later in this period.

A ‘Preferred Route Announcement’ leaflet is available on the Roads Service website providing an overview of the assessment process, summarising the results of the study and illustrating the preferred route. Roads Service is holding a public exhibition to present the Preferred Route, in the Drummond Hotel, Ballykelly, today between 2pm and 9pm.

Notes to editors:

  1. Media queries should be directed to the Department for Regional Development Press Office on 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.