This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2010) |
A5 | |
---|---|
Route information | |
Length | 53.3 mi (85.8 km) |
Major junctions | |
North end | Derry A2 in Derry A38 in Strabane B46 to Plumbridge A32 in Omagh A4 in Ballygawley (border) to Monaghan |
South end | Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, N2 road |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | Northern Ireland |
Primary destinations | Derry Strabane Newtownstewart Omagh Ballygawley Aughnacloy Monaghan |
Road network | |
The A5 is a major primary route in Northern Ireland. It links the city of Derry in County Londonderry with Aughnacloy, County Tyrone via the towns of Strabane and Omagh. Just south of Aughnacloy is the border with the Republic of Ireland, where the A5 meets the N2 to Dublin. Between them the A5 and N2 are the main road link between County Donegal in the Republic and Dublin.
The A5 starts at a crossroads in Derry where the Craigavon Bridge meets the A2. The A5 goes south skirting the River Foyle past Prehen and through the villages of New Buildings and across the county boundary into Tyrone at Magheramason. A dangerous bend leads up to the village of Bready, after which the road passes through Ballymagorry. It by-passes the large town of Strabane, where it meets the A38 near Lifford Bridge, which crosses the Border to Lifford and the Republic onto the N15 near its junction with the N14.
After by-passing Strabane the A5 goes through the villages of Sion Mills and Victoria Bridge. It then by-passes Newtownstewart and continues to the county town of Omagh, where it has junctions with the A32 road to Enniskillen and A505 road to Cookstown.
The A5 continues through the hamlets of Garvaghey and Ballymackilroy to a roundabout just outside Ballygawley where it meets the A4 Belfast – Enniskillen road. The two roads combine for a few hundred metres. The A5 continues to the border village of Aughnacloy. After Aughnacloy the road reaches the international border with County Monaghan where it becomes the N2 to Dublin, Ardee and Monaghan.
The A5 does not contain any dual carriageway sections, and for many years the route brought traffic through a series of towns and villages which formed bottlenecks. [1]
Since the 1980s a bypass of Strabane has been built in two sections. The first section was completed and opened in the early 1990s, relieving outlying northern neighbourhoods and the town centre. In 2003 the bypass was extended to divert traffic from the Melmount area of Strabane. Both projects have relieved traffic in the town. A proposed third section is now "on hold" pending wider decisions on the future of the A5 (see next section).
There was also bottleneck through the village of Newtownstewart, where the A5 included a narrow section before a sharp right turn at a T-junction with the B46 to Plumbridge. This was followed by a left turn a short distance later through the southern part of the village, before meeting a dangerous right-hand bend which carried a 25 mph speed limit. A bypass of the village, using part of the route of the dismantled Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway, was completed and opened in 2003.
From the 1990s onwards an A5 bypass was also built in three stages through the town of Omagh. The first, central, stage was completed in the mid-1990s and diverted the A5 away from the town centre. In the late 1990s the second stage was completed, relieving the increasingly built-up northern parts of the town. In 2006, the final stage was opened, taking traffic away from housing developments on the southern edge of the town and diverting traffic from a bridge over the Drumragh river, the site of a dangerous S-bend and accident blackspot.
The Department of Regional Development has confirmed that part of the A5 route at Tullyvar, between Ballygawley and Aughnacloy, will be realigned, as will the A4 at Annaghilla nearby. Advanced site clearance works began in November 2007 with construction expected in 2008.
Other schemes to improve the A5 have also been proposed by the DRD:
In June 2008 Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy announced plans for a feasibility study into creating an A6 – A5 Link Road around Derry. However, this is not a commitment on behalf of his Department. [2]
In October 2006 senior Irish Government sources confirmed that the forthcoming National Development Plan for the years 2007 to 2013 would include plans to offer co-funding for a series of infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland. The funding was accepted and in November 2007 the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development announced that a route selection study had begun to upgrade the entire A5 route to dual-carriageway from the N2 at the Irish border near Aughnacloy, to Derry.
Then it was decided that instead of upgrading the current road, a 58-mile (93 km) new dual carriageway would be built. The project is called the A5 Western Transport Corridor, [3] abbreviated to A5WTC. [4]
It was suggested that the new road would reduce journey times from Derry and Northern Donegal to Dublin by 20 minutes. In 2007 the cost was estimated at £560 million. This estimate was revised upwards to £650–850 million in November 2008, £844 in August 2009 and then reached £1.049 billion in October 2016. [1] This will be both the longest and most expensive single road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland was meant to contribute €460 million of the cost. However, in May 2011 the Republic's Taoiseach Enda Kenny called for the project to "look at making savings". [5] And in November 2011 the Republic announced that it could not make its £400 million contribution to the project. [6] In 2024 the Irish Government confirmed funding worth €800 million (£685 million) for cross-border projects, including €600m for the A5. [7]
In 2011 a set of four public inquiries into the A5WTC was held. One was strategic, considering the proposal overall. The others were in three geographical sections: New Buildings to Sion Mills, Sion Mills to south of Omagh and south of Omagh to Aughnacloy. The first of these inquiries began in April 2011 and they continued for two months. Their report was submitted to the Minister for Regional Development in March 2012 and published in 31 July. [1]
A campaign umbrella group called the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A) had been founded in 2010 to oppose the A5WTC. In September 2012 the AA5A began legal proceedings against the A5WTC. A court heard the case in February 2013. The next month the judge rejected five of the six counts of the challenge. The judge upheld the challenge on one count, that the Department had failed to comply with the EU Habitats Directive. [1]
In April 2015 it was revealed that despite being at a standstill for eight years the A5WTC project had cost £72 million. [8]
In August 2016 the AA5A launched a second legal case against the A5WTC, apparently seeking a judicial review. A second public inquiry began in October 2016 and continued until December. [1] Its report is awaited.
In April 2017 the Department for Infrastructure (formerly the Department of Regional Development) launched a new consultation on its A5 Habitats Regulations Reports. [9]
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city, Belfast, is 68 miles (109.5 km) to the east of Omagh, and Derry is 34 miles (55 km) to the north.
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to surfaced roads including modern motorways. Driving is on the left-hand side of the road. The major routes were established before Irish independence and consequently take little cognisance of the border other than a change of identification number and street furniture. Northern Ireland has had motorways since 1962, and has a well-developed network of primary, secondary and local routes. The Republic started work on its motorway network in the early 1980s; and historically, the road network there was once somewhat less well developed. However, the Celtic Tiger economic boom and an influx of European Union structural funding, saw national roads and regional roads in the Republic come up to international standard quite quickly. In the mid-1990s, for example, the Republic went from having only a few short sections of motorway to a network of motorways, dual carriageways and other improvements on most major routes as part of a National Development Plan. Road construction in Northern Ireland now tends to proceed at a slower pace than in the Republic, although a number of important bypasses and upgrades to dual carriageway have recently been completed or are about to begin.
The N11 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running for 129 km (80 mi) along the east side of Ireland from Dublin to Wexford. It passes close to Bray, Greystones, Wicklow, Arklow, Gorey, and Enniscorthy. Beyond Wexford, the route continues to Rosslare as the N25. The road forms part of European route E01. As of July 2019 the N11/M11 is of dual carriageway or motorway standard from Dublin as far as Oilgate in County Wexford.
National Development Plan is the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, the second was a six-year plan from 1994 to 1999 and the third ran as a seven-year plan from 2000 to 2006. A fourth National Development Plan ran from 2007 to 2011. The main elements of the third plan were the development of a national motorway network between the major cities in Ireland. The upgrading of the rail network was a secondary scheme.
The N4 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running from Dublin to the northwest of Ireland and Sligo town. The M6 to Galway diverges from this route after Kinnegad, while the N5 to Westport diverges at Longford town. Most sections of the N4 that are motorway-standard are designated the M4 motorway.
The N3 road is a national primary road in the Republic of Ireland, running between Dublin, Cavan and the border with County Fermanagh. The A509 and A46 roads in Northern Ireland form part of an overall route connecting to Enniskillen, and northwest to the border again where the N3 reappears to serve Ballyshannon in County Donegal.
The N2 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running from Dublin to the border with Northern Ireland at Moy Bridge near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone to connect Dublin with Derry and Letterkenny via the A5. A section of the route near Dublin forms the M2 motorway.
The N17 road is a national primary road in Ireland, and is part of the Atlantic Corridor route. It begins in County Galway and ends in County Sligo. On 27 September 2017 the southern, Tuam–Galway, section was upgraded to motorway status and designated M17.
The N18 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Limerick and Galway. Ennis and Gort are two major towns on the route, and Shannon Airport is reached via the connecting N19. The west coast route continues on to Sligo as the N17. The section from Limerick to the N19 junction forms part of European route E20, and the entire route is part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor. The section of motorway from Shannon to Claregalway is designated the M18 motorway. The tolled Limerick Tunnel forms part of the route.
The N13 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running in County Donegal in Ulster from Stranorlar to just outside Derry. This road connects Letterkenny to Sligo, Derry and onwards to other destinations.
The N14 road is a national primary road in the Republic of Ireland. The entirety of the route is located in the northwest of Ireland, in County Donegal, connecting Manorcunningham to Lifford in the east. Here it connects to the N15 near the border with Northern Ireland and along the A38 to Strabane in County Tyrone.
The N15 road is a national primary road in the north-west of Ireland. It runs from Sligo to Lifford, County Donegal. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route. It also goes to the border with Northern Ireland.
The N20 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are major towns along the route. A short section of the route is motorway standard and is designated as the M20 Motorway.
The N52 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the M7 motorway from just south of Nenagh, County Tipperary to the M1 motorway north of Dundalk in County Louth. The route forms a connection between the north east of Ireland and the mid west traversing the midlands. It interchanges with the M6 at Kilbeggan and at Tyrrellspass, the N4 at Mullingar, the N3 at Kells, and the N2 at Ardee before continuing towards Dundalk.
The N25 road is a national primary road in Ireland, forming the route from Cork to Rosslare Europort via Waterford City. The road is part of the E30 European route and a short section is also part of the E01 European route. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route.
Aughnacloy, sometimes spelt Auchnacloy, is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Close to the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, the village is about 20 km southwest of Dungannon, and 7 km southeast of Ballygawley. It is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Carnteel. In the 2011 census it had a population of 1,045.
The A4 is a major east–west road in Northern Ireland. It travels for 69.2 miles from Portadown to Belcoo through County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh.
A High-quality dual carriageway (HQDC) is a road category in Ireland. It is defined as an all-purpose dual carriageway road type built to near motorway standards, but without motorway classification or motorway restrictions. High-quality dual carriageways have full grade-separated access and do not have junctions with minor roads. Such roads in the Republic of Ireland have been built as part of the 2000–2006 and 2007–2013 National Development Plans, including interurban routes from Dublin to other cities.
There have been routes and trackways in Ireland connecting settlements and facilitating trade since ancient times and the country now has an extensive network of public roads connecting all parts of the island.
The A32 is a route in Northern Ireland connecting Omagh, County Tyrone and Swanlinbar, County Cavan. The road passes through Dromore in Tyrone and the Fermanagh towns of Irvinestown and Enniskillen.