Decision expected on future of A5 upgrade

The Court of Appeal is expected to make a decision on the future of the long-delayed A5 upgrade project on Tuesday.

Proposals to build a new dual dual carriageway between Londonderry and Aughnacloy go back almost 20 years but have been beset by funding and legal issues.

Last year, a court ruled the Department for Infrastructure's (DfI) plans for the road did not comply with climate targets. It was the third time in 18 years that approval for the road has been overturned in court.

The Court of Appeal will decide on whether to uphold or quash the High Court judgement.

Almost £200m has now been spent on the A5 road building project despite work having yet to start on the road.

Those who back the upgrade project, known as A5 Western Transport Corridor project, have argued it is necessary to save lives.

Those who oppose it - frequently represented by the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A) campaign group - believe its impact on farmland and the broader environment will be negative.

A public inquiry into the environmental impact of the proposed route was held between February 2000 and June 2023.

On Tuesday the Court of Appeal, sitting at the High Court in Belfast, is set to deliver a crucial ruling to determine the next steps for the long-delayed dual-carriageway upgrade project.

The A5 is a 58-mile stretch of tarmac that traverses the west of Northern Ireland and provides passage to the south.

It begins just north of Londonderry and runs below the border town of Auchnacloy.

It passes through or around many villages and towns, including Strabane, Sion Mills, Omagh and Ballygawley.

Although mostly single carriageway with few overtaking lanes, it is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network and has more than 200 side roads connecting to it.

It is the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.

It also connects with the A4 road, linking to Belfast via the M1.

The A5 has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, with the exception of some town bypasses, but there has been a huge rise in the number of cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles using it since it was first built.

More than 50 people have died on the road since 2006 and there has been a long campaign to upgrade it.

Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone, with increase of about 30% forecast over the next 25 years.

A plan to transform the most single lane road into a dual carriageway was first proposed nearly two decades ago, with advocates arguing a new, modernised road was needed to save lives.

2007: A5 upgrade is officially proposed - it would bring the mostly single-carriage major route, linking the island's north west to Dublin, up to a dual carriageway.

2011: A first public inquiry is held into the project, after 2,000 objections are lodged.

2012: Then Stormont Roads Minister Danny Kennedy gives the go-ahead for the scheme. The Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A) group lodges a legal challenge.

2013: A High Court judge quashes Stormont's decision to proceed with the road, upholding an argument by AA5A lawyers that the planned new route breached habitat directives

2017: A second public inquiry into the road finds that it should proceed in the wider public interest. The Department of Infrastructure announces work will begin on the Newbuildings to Strabane section the next year

2018: A judge quashes the department's decision once again after a second legal challenge. On this occasion, the Department of Infrastructure withdraws its defence. AA5A lawyers argued the decision was unlawful as it was not taken by a Stormont minister but a department permanent secretary as Northern Ireland's power-sharing government had collapsed

2020: A third public inquiry begins

2024: Stormont ministers give a third green light to the road scheme. Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd says work would begin in early 2025 and be completed on a phased basis. The AA5A group launches a third legal challenge in response.

2025: A judge rules against the long-delayed A5 road project going ahead in its current form, upholding a legal challenge taken by a group of landowners

The total cost of the cross-border project is estimated to be in the region of £1.7bn.

The Northern Ireland Executive committed "about £1.2bn" when the final plan was announced by ministers in late 2024.

Irish government funding of €600m (£509m) for an upgrade of the road was announced in February 2024.

Almost £200m has now been spent on the A5 road building project.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme on Tuesday, Finance Minister John O'Dowd said that projections he has put in place in his draft budget over a three year period "set aside funding for the completion of the A5".

He said although the draft budget has not been agreed by the executive yet, he has "set out how that project can and should be funded".

He said it "had to go ahead", both in terms of road safety and an economic driver for the region.

"The road network in that region has been failed over many, many decades. It now needs upgraded."