THE delayed A6 dual carriageway in Co Derry will finally open to motorists this week, it has been confirmed.
The stretch of road, from Dungiven to Drumahoe outside Derry city, was initially planned to open last April, after work began on the £225m route in 2018.
The 25.5 kilometer stretch of dual carriageway is part of a £440 million project to upgrade the A6 and reduce travel times between Derry and Belfast.
The 14.7km stretch between Randalstown and Castledason was completed in May of 2021.
Delays to the A6 had previously been blamed by the Department for Infrastructure on issues including market volatility, and the Covid pandemic, which it said had a "major impact" on the project.
A spokesperson for the department said this week's opening of the new route, scheduled for Thursday morning, followed the completion of a Road Safety Audit, and would benefit motorists ahead of the Easter holiday period.
"The entire 25.5 kilometres of the road will be open for road users by Thursday afternoon with national speed limit in place," the spokesperson said.
"This is great news for the 15,000 vehicles using the route each day and will bring long term benefits for road users and the local community in providing shorter, safer and more reliable journey times.
"This scheme along with the Randalstown to Castledawson scheme completed in 2021 represents an investment of around £440 million by the department to upgrade the roads infrastructure between Derry and Belfast with approximately three quarters of the route now dual carriageway standard or better."
East Derry Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald said the opening was "positive news for Derry, Dungiven and the surrounding areas".
She added: “Not only will this new road cut journey times between Belfast and Derry, it will improve the north west’s connection to other parts of the island."
