£59m still required for A2 scheme, delegation told

Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy has indicated that £59 million is still required to complete the A2 road widening scheme.

A delegation of local representatives, including Mayor of Carrickfergus Alderman Jim McClurg and several Council members, met with the Minister last Wednesday to lobby in support of the scheme.

“Given that something like £16 million has already been spent on the A2, it seems an awful lot more money. We were given a figure of about £40 million roughly five years ago,” said Alderman McClurg.

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“We queried whether or not the funds could be found, but the Minister outlined that the Department could not commit to anything prior to 2015. However, he did say that if there funds were to be made available, the A2 scheme would be first on the list as it’s basically ready to go.”

Fellow delegate Cllr Andrew Wilson added: “The meeting with Minister Danny Kennedy was reasonably positive in tone and the Minister recognises the importance of the A2 and the levels of traffic congestion that we have to deal with at present.

“With 30,000 daily commuters on the A2, we need action on this scheme, which has been in the pipeline since the 1970s. The Minister indicates that £59 million is still required to complete the scheme, so it seems that the immediate future of the A2 is to be determined by the A5 road from Londonderry to the Republic of Ireland.

“The Irish Government have recently announced major cuts on road schemes down South and this includes total postponement of all road schemes in Donegal and 45 road schemes axed province wide,” Cllr Wilson said.

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“We as public representatives will try to ensure that the A2 is kept on the Minister’s mind and that we are at the top, or as near the top of the waiting list as possible, as and when any funding becomes available.”