N.IRL: A5 Derry Dual Carriageway Progress updates

[nirs]

Good work Wes, just to let you know that the 30th Jan link update on your website for the Sprucefield scheme is misdirecting

Oops! Cheers, will get it sorted.

[nirs]

Alas these proposals may join other maps on your site of projects that did not materialise.

The plans do have the same sort of audacity and confidence about them that you feel when you look at the grand NI motorway plans of the 1960s, and I have that same eerie sensation when looking at them. The only difference is that back in the 1960s the plans were published without any clear idea how they were going to be paid for. At least now there IS such a plan, even if a big element of it is in doubt. Since the Minister seems so keen to proceed I suspect that, even if the Irish funding is withdrawn, the Minister may well proceed with at least part of the A5 plan (say, Derry to Strabane) despite the majority public view in the North West that the A6 should have priority.

Back when I was a boy in Omagh I never imagined that twenty years later I'd be looking at a plan showing what is practically a motorway junction serving Seskinore!

[bothar]

A friend in Tyrone has said that the Ulster Herald will have an article on the A5 project this week, alleging that some of the "local" objections are fakes which do not originate locally. So we can all rush out to buy it!

[NITransport]

Back when I was a boy in Omagh I never imagined that twenty years later I'd be looking at a plan showing what is practically a motorway junction serving Seskinore!

I do have to say that the junctions around Omagh are very impressive looking! Aswell as the junctions serving Strabane to as lesser extent. It is a shame of the roundabout there though.

What I couldn't believe as well were the plans for the motorway style junction on the A6 at Drumahoe!

I couldn't begin to explain how ecstatic I'd be the day these plans ever come to fruition!

[IJP1]

Bothar,

I have to say when I visited Omagh in 2009 and went around a large number of local groups in various sectors, I found almost no opposition to the road.

So I could believe that.

Ian P.

[nirs]

A friend in Tyrone has said that the Ulster Herald will have an article on the A5 project this week, alleging that some of the "local" objections are fakes which do not originate locally. So we can all rush out to buy it!

BBC may have stolen their thunder! A5 Objections Duplicated

[bothar]

Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has announced that a Public Inquiry will be held into the proposed A5 Western Transport Corridor dualling project.

The recent formal consultation period associated with the project, which ran from 15 November 2010 until 21 January 2011, attracted over 2,000 objections.

In announcing his decision, the Minister said:"As expected there has been considerable interest in the proposed A5 dualling project and it is important that Public Inquiries are held to discuss and debate the issues of contention associated with the published Draft Orders and Environmental Statement.

"Projects of this scale will usually result in the holding of a Public Inquiry but, because of the length of the project and the extent of the interest, it has been decided that the A5 Public Inquiry will be held at a number of locations along the route. I welcome the interest in the project and hope that many of the matters of concern can be addressed either before or at the Public Inquiry which is likely to commence in May 2011."

The A5 Western Transport Corridor extends from New Buildings on the outskirts of Derry to the border at Aughnacloy and, at a length of 85 km, is the largest road scheme ever undertaken in the north.

Further details associated with the Public Inquiry will be published at a later date.

http://www.drdni.gov.uk/newsDetails.htm?newsRef=1454

[nirs]

I'd say this Inquiry will be one of the most vocal in Northern Ireland for many years. We've got used to road inquiries passing without significant problems and little or no media attention. That won't be the case here.

[Trebeck]

I'd say this Inquiry will be one of the most vocal in Northern Ireland for many years. We've got used to road inquiries passing without significant problems and little or no media attention. That won't be the case here.

A5 farmer told he would have to pay for underpass

A farmer whose land will be vested as part of the A5 road scheme, has been told an underpass for his cattle would have to come out of his compensation.

On Thursday, members of the assembly agriculture committee visited farmers affected by the proposal.

Work is expected to start next year on the road dualling project which could cost almost £900m.

Farmer David Matthews said the funding for an underpass will have to come out of money given to him to buy new land.

Mr Matthews is going to lose 41 acres from his farm on the Beltany Road between Omagh and Newtownstewart.

He needs to move his dairy cattle around his land to graze them day and night.

When he was told the road would be cutting through his land he asked the project consultants for an underpass.

'Absolutely shocked'

"Basically we're going to have to pay for it out of the compensation from the rest of the land that they're taking," he said.

"I'm just absolutely shocked that that could be thought of.

"I don't see any way round it - if the Roads Service can't build an underpass it'll not be built."

Four members of the Stormont agriculture committee visited farms along the route of the new road on Thursday.

They met Mr Matthews and other farmers who said their livelihoods are being threatened by the road scheme - one man is losing 71.6 acres.

The A5 project extends from New Buildings on the outskirts of Londonderry to the border with the Irish Republic at Aughnacloy.

Nearly half of the money for it is coming from the Irish Republic.

There were more than 2,000 objections to the project during the consultation period and an inquiry into it is expected to start in May.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12502749


In England they can have cattle bridges over the M6, in Scotland they can have cattle lights on the A75, why do we not have any accommodation for farmers in NI?

[nirs]

This sounds odd - surely we're not hearing the whole story. Roads Service generally do put in accommodation crossings etc for farmers whose land is severed. If they didn't, the Public Inquiry would make them put them in because they're of fundamental importance to the running of the farm. The only reason I can think of why this disagreement might have come about was if there was a nearby road that Roads Service felt the farmer could conveniently use to move his cattle, but the farmer feels this to be an inappropriate solution. In such a scenario Roads Service might offer to build an underpass anyway, but at the farmer's expense. It sounds like the type of disagreement that Public Inquiries are designed to solve.

[bothar]

The briefing for the new ROI Transport minister, Leo Varadkar, has appeared on Transport.ie (a crappy scanned document that you cannot search).

This talks about the A5 (page 51 of the pdf).
"The Dept of Finance has indicated that payments will be met from within the overall Government capital envelope. The anticipated spend profile for 2013 and 2014 is £10m and £130m respectively. Further payments of £120m and £118m are anticipated in 2015 and 2016."

I think at this stage it would be unwise to speculate on the state of the overall capital envelope in 2014. I expect a postponement.

[spacetweek]

The briefing for the new ROI Transport minister, Leo Varadkar, has appeared on Transport.ie (a crappy scanned document that you cannot search).

This talks about the A5 (page 51 of the pdf).
"The Dept of Finance has indicated that payments will be met from within the overall Government capital envelope. The anticipated spend profile for 2013 and 2014 is £10m and £130m respectively. Further payments of £120m and £118m are anticipated in 2015 and 2016."

I think at this stage it would be unwise to speculate on the state of the overall capital envelope in 2014. I expect a postponement.

Nah, not with you here. If anything the capital spending envelope will be more, not less, predictable in 2014 since there are unlikely to be any further cuts in transport spending after this year.

Having said that it looks like the start date is 2014 not 2012 as speculated in the farmer underpass article above.

[bothar]

Nah, not with you here. If anything the capital spending envelope will be more, not less, predictable in 2014 since there are unlikely to be any further cuts in transport spending after this year.

How you do reckon that? Optimistic by nature?

[spacetweek]

How you do reckon that? Optimistic by nature?

Realistic! Infrastructural investment is a money-spinner. The cut in funding doesn't make sense for financial or economic reasons and has only been done for show. My prediction is that it'll be reversed in a few years.

[bothar]

The cut in funding doesn't make sense for financial or economic reasons and has only been done for show.

If you have to borrow the money and your interest payments are fast increasing then infrastructural investment does not make sense, as you go bust before you enjoy its benefits. As for cutting for show when blind pensions have been cut and remedial teachers are being removed from schools infrastructure does fall down the list of priorities.

[nirs]

Public inquiry opened last Monday. So far nothing too surprising.

Irish Times report today. It quotes Enda Kenny saying that the planners should look at cost savings on the scheme. I missed that one.

[clangy]

On the N.IRL: New roads minister is Ulster Unionist thread...

Reported on BBC News. [Roads Minister, Danny Kennedy,] is going to wait on the outcome of a public consultation.

Sensible man. No point in burning your boats with a hasty decision.

I agree that it is wise for the Minister to defer making a decision. The findings of the Inquiry may be of assistance if they recommend that the scheme is not required in its entirety at this time.

I think it is worth completing the statutory processes for the full route, but include/add provision for appropriate tie-ins to allow construction of the scheme in sections/phases over a longer period. Does anyone know if it is possible to include 'temporary' tie-ins within a direction order?

I would suggest the following sections:-

• (phase 1a) Newbuildings - North of Strabane
  (phase 1b) South of Omagh - West of Ballygawley/A4
  (phase 1c) Aughnacloy Bypass (single carriageway)
  
  (phase 2) Strabane Bypass
  
  (phase 3a) South of Strabane - North of Omagh
  (phase 3b) Omagh Bypass
  
  (phase 4a) West of Ballygawley/A4 - North of Aughnacloy
  (phase 4b) Aughnacloy Bypass (dualling)

I also think there is scope for the introduction of a closed toll system with an appropriate redesign of the junctions.

Any views?

[bothar]

According to the Belfast Telegraph Enda Kenny has pledged money for this project. Which is not to say that he is in any hurry to proceed, of course.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has publicly pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to build a controversial road in Northern Ireland.

There have been more than 2,400 objections to the planned £850m A5 road from Londonderry to Aughnacloy, on the Monaghan-Tyrone border.

A public inquiry into the viability of the road opened earlier this month.

Its opponents have branded it a vanity project, a “political road” that will not deliver the promised economic benefits and will “cripple” transport budgets north and south of the border.

But at the annual conference of the Institute for British-Irish Studies in UCD, Mr Kenny said: “The previous government had committed to put money in there and we will honour that commitment.” Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen said last January in Armagh that £400m would be provided to fund the route, as well as the smaller and less expensive 14.4km A8 Belfast to Larne dual carriageway project.

But Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland reacted with surprise to Mr Kenny's announcement yesterday.

Its director, James Orr, said the A5 road was not projected to bring about any increase in traffic to the North West despite its enormous cost.

“Since the public inquiry has started there's even more evidence to suggest it's an ill thought out, vainglorious scheme. At the end of the day, we all know this is a political road,” he said.

Mr Kenny spoke of the Irish government's commitment to the scheme yesterday as part of his first public address on policy towards Northern Ireland.

He said he was personally committed to strong North-South relations due to his year-long stint on the New Ireland Forum in the 1980s.

“The government that I will lead is absolutely committed to protecting all of the gains that have flowed from the Good Friday Agreement and will continue to work in that regard,” he said.

Mr Kenny is due to have his first full meeting with First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at a meeting of the North-South ministerial council in Farmleigh House in Dublin on June 10.

Last week Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy said he will wait for the outcome of a public inquiry into the A5 road before making a decision on whether the project will go ahead. The Roads Service has confirmed £35m has already been spent on project development

[bothar]

It's all going to be OK. The "experts" are in favour.
The point about houses is a relevant one. Given Irish settlement patterns, there are houses along the existing road and these will either have to be removed, or will end up with a near motorway at their door. In the ROI this is one of the factors directing routes onto new alignments.

Belfast Telegraph

Government engineers have said the proposed A5 dual carriageway is better value, will be safer and will affect fewer landowners than alternative proposals, according to the minister responsible for roads.

But Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy told the Assembly he would reserve judgment on the major Western Transport Corridor until completion of an ongoing public inquiry.

The Irish Government is to pay around £400 million of the up to £850 million cost of the dual carriageway running from Londonderry to Aughnacloy, with the route helping to link Donegal to Dublin.

The minister said his department's engineers had considered the merits of providing a new dual carriageway against upgrading the existing route, or adding a "two plus one" carriageway, which effectively involves creating over-taking lanes.

He said they found that a new dual carriageway was the most cost-effective project, with the alternatives expected to take up a greater amount of land and likely to affect 50 properties, as opposed to the planned demolition of seven homes for the dual carriageway route.

"Also, in terms of road safety and journey times, the benefits of a dual carriageway are greater than those of a two plus one solution," he said.

"Undoubtedly these issues and arguments will get a proper airing at the public inquiry and I will reflect on the inspector's views and recommendations when I receive his final report."

Mr Kennedy detailed how £35 million had been spent on preparatory work on the proposed route.

He said the Irish Government, which is committed to backing the dual carriageway upgrade of the A5 and the A8 at Larne, had already supplied £8 million and was expected to agree a further £11 million payment this month.

The minister said all those affected by the proposal had to be given a fair hearing and he also warned against political posturing over the issue.

[dantheman]

It's all going to be OK. The "experts" are in favour.
The point about houses is a relevant one. Given Irish settlement patterns, there are houses along the existing road and these will either have to be removed, or will end up with a near motorway at their door. In the ROI this is one of the factors directing routes onto new alignments.

Belfast Telegraph

Government engineers have said the proposed A5 dual carriageway is better value, will be safer and will affect fewer landowners than alternative proposals, according to the minister responsible for roads.

But Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy told the Assembly he would reserve judgment on the major Western Transport Corridor until completion of an ongoing public inquiry.

The Irish Government is to pay around £400 million of the up to £850 million cost of the dual carriageway running from Londonderry to Aughnacloy, with the route helping to link Donegal to Dublin.

The minister said his department's engineers had considered the merits of providing a new dual carriageway against upgrading the existing route, or adding a "two plus one" carriageway, which effectively involves creating over-taking lanes.

He said they found that a new dual carriageway was the most cost-effective project, with the alternatives expected to take up a greater amount of land and likely to affect 50 properties, as opposed to the planned demolition of seven homes for the dual carriageway route.

"Also, in terms of road safety and journey times, the benefits of a dual carriageway are greater than those of a two plus one solution," he said.

"Undoubtedly these issues and arguments will get a proper airing at the public inquiry and I will reflect on the inspector's views and recommendations when I receive his final report."

Mr Kennedy detailed how £35 million had been spent on preparatory work on the proposed route.

He said the Irish Government, which is committed to backing the dual carriageway upgrade of the A5 and the A8 at Larne, had already supplied £8 million and was expected to agree a further £11 million payment this month.

The minister said all those affected by the proposal had to be given a fair hearing and he also warned against political posturing over the issue.

Incredible that at a time where the Republic has given up on the concept of 2+1, the North is advocating rolling it out.