Bypass plan moves along

Minister Conor Murphy made the announcement whilst welcoming the 2.1 million structural road maintenance in the Limavady area this year. He added that the selection of the preferred route for the project in March was an "important milestone".

The Minister said: "I announced the preferred route for the proposed Ballykelly Bypass in March of this year. Selection of the preferred route is an equitable balance of economic, environmental and social issues when measured against the Government's five key transport criteria; safety, economics, environment, integration and accessibility. It is an important milestone in the road project, removing uncertainty about where the road will be built."

Speaking ahead of a meeting between Roads Service and Limavady Borough on Tuesday, the Minister said: "A range of local schemes have been delivered successfully by Roads Service in the past year. While the tightening public expenditure environment in the year ahead will be challenging, Roads Service remains committed to ensure it can make best use of our resources and continue to deliver quality public services."

Improvement schemes completed in 2009/10 included a 183,000 scheme on the B69 Baranailt Road, which involved the replacement of the Drumacarney Bridge, carriageway realignment and the provision of 70 metres of safety barrier on either side of the carriageway, spanning the Bessbrook River. Schemes which commenced in 2009/10 financial year and are nearing completion include a 300,000 scheme at the junction of the A37 Broad Road and B66 Ringsend Road. This scheme realigns the bend on the Broad Road, at its junction with Ringsend Road to improve forward sight distance and also provides a right turning lane for traffic on the Broad Road exiting onto the Ringsend Road. In total, 7.73 kilometres of carriageway were resurfaced at a total cost of 1.28million, the most significant being 1,250 metres of the A2 Main Street, Ballykelly and 1,155 metres of the B69 Baranailt Road between Moneyrandel Road and Drumrane Road.

Speaking at the meeting, Jim Campbell, Principal Engineer, said: "A programme of resurfacing works includes 585 metres of the C570 Greystone Road, Limavady between Scroggy Road Roundabout and Irish Green Street."