AN environmental campaigner has lodged an appeal against a High Court ruling to allow work on the A6 upgrade to go ahead.
The appeal comes days after transport chiefs confirmed work on part of the route is due to begin in the "next few weeks".
The Department for Infrastructure also confirmed that work on a disputed stretch of the planned road has been stalled.
Yesterday's appeal was lodged by Co Down environmentalist Chris Murphy after a recent challenge failed.
The £160m nine-mile dual carriageway will replace the existing road from Castledawson to the M22 motorway, including several bottlenecks which can cause lengthy tailbacks for motorists travelling between Belfast and Derry.
Campaigners have objected to part of the planned route, claiming it will damage protected wetlands close to Lough Beg.
The area is also closely associated with the poet Seamus Heaney and features in some of his most famous works.
Mr Murphy said he is not opposed to the upgrade of the transport network.
"I am not `anti-road' as some recent comments have portrayed me, I support dualling of the A6 and smoother travel between Belfast and the North West," he said.
"What I cannot support is the destruction of internationally important wetlands and an area of enormous cultural heritage."
He said he also has concerns about Whooper Swans which settle in the area every winter.
"In terms of history and heritage, the government's chosen route would impact significantly on a landscape made famous by Seamus Heaney," he said.
"This should be an area to conserve and promote, not bulldoze and destroy."
A spokeswoman for DfI said the A6 is a "strategically important transport corridor" and added: "The Department will work to bring any future legal proceedings regarding this section of the route to a conclusion as soon as possible."
