A1 campaigners welcome New-Bridge pioneering project

It will take the form of a social campaign where the students will be developed as social activists working to make their world a better place.

The project aims to support the A1 phase 2 upgrade work, which will result in some students travelling to Stormont to deliver their speeches to the Minister for Infrastructure, John O’Dowd MLA.

Banbridge councillor Joy Ferguson, Monica Heaney and Sinéad Lunny were invited to speak to the Year 8 students at the project launch in New-Bridge last Monday.

Having heard the three women on the radio talking about their Stormont campaign, New-Bridge vice-principal Hilary Harbinson was immediately prompted to contact them to suggest that they join forces to support the college project, with the aim of ensuring that the A1 becomes a safer road.

Councillor Ferguson and Monica Heaney have spearheaded a long-running campaign to improve safety on the A1, with Sinéad joining their efforts more recently.

Monica lost her son Karl on the A1 in 2018 and Sinéad suffered life-changing injuries on the same stretch of road 10 years before that in 2008.

Between 2002 and 2019, there have been 661 collisions on the A1 and 41 fatalities.

The local women brought their campaign to Stormont to lobby politicians earlier this year and, in July, they welcomed the commitment from Minister O’Dowd to implement phase 2 road safety improvements on the A1.

The second phase of the scheme, along the dual carriageway between Hillsborough and Loughbrickland, will include closing gaps in the central reservation and the provision of a continuous central safety barrier. It represents an investment of over £100 million.

Speaking in the Assembly chamber, Minister O’Dowd committed to delivering the A1 project “in one complete package rather than a series of phases”.

Commenting on the New-Bridge project, Councillor Ferguson described it as “exciting” and said it would encourage the students to “use their voice for good and understand the political mechanisms to lobby for change”.

Monica said she was so glad that the Year 8s, as their first project, “would be focusing on improving road safety on the A1”.

She hopes, along with her voluntary support group, ‘The Road Ahead’, to visit the college throughout the year to talk to them on all aspects of road safety.

Monica added that it would be lovely to see other schools get involved in the project.

Local businesswoman, Sinéad Lunny, said she was “honoured” to be a part of the project to help young people use their voice to make a change.

She explained how she was wheelchair-bound for six months, had to delay her professional qualifications and still experiences frequent pain and discomfort, together with travel anxiety.