Northern Ireland

Campaigners against A6 welcome halt to road building work

Work underway along the route of the A6 close to Toome on Tuesday. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Work underway along the route of the A6 close to Toome on Tuesday. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Work underway along the route of the A6 close to Toome on Tuesday. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

CAMPAIGNERS have described a decision not to begin major construction work on a disputed section of the new A6 road as "significant”.

The Department for Infrastructure announced yesterday that work on the majority of the £160m upgrade is to begin “in the next few weeks”.

However, it confirmed that “only essential work involving alterations to utility supplies, minor archaeology/geotechnical testing and ground preparation to the south of the existing bypass” will take place on the contested stretch.

A 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 wider area is also closely associated with the poet Seamus Heaney and features in some of his most famous works.

The Irish News revealed last year that the poet himself was opposed to the contentious stretch.

In a letter to then secretary of State Peter Hain, he described the area as “one of the few undisturbed bits of wetland in mid-Ulster, a direct link to the environment our Mesolithic ancestors knew in the Bann Valley and a precious ‘lung’ in the countryside”.

Although a legal challenge by Co Down environmentalist Chris Murphy recently failed, he is expected to lodge an appeal in the coming days.

Friends of the Earth director James Orr last night welcomed the stay on construction.

“As long as Chris (Murphy) continues his legal challenge there is no prospect that this is going ahead in the foreseeable future,” he said.

“It’s quite significant, clearly for now it’s saved.”

Local resident Gerry Donnelly also gave the news a cautious welcome and said he believes the legal action may have influenced the department’s approach.

“There’s a way to go yet,” he said.

“If it has encouraged those in power to have a rethink on the part (of the route) we were concentrating on that would be positive.”

Gerry Donnelly i
Gerry Donnelly i Gerry Donnelly i

A spokesman for the department, which has insisted it has met all environmental commitments, said it will "work to bring any future legal proceedings regarding this section of the route to a conclusion as soon as possible”.

In its statement, it said that work will begin “on the sections from Randalstown to Toome and from Moyola to Castledawson Roundabout” in the coming weeks.

“The entire scheme is expected to be substantially complete in early 2021, with the Randalstown to Toome section open to traffic as soon as 2019."

The spokesman said the “scheme is an Executive flagship project which will deliver reductions in peak journey times by at least a quarter, remove several bottlenecks along the route and also significantly improve road safety for 18,000 people using the road daily”.