Road to stay closed at Tobermore for another week

The main Tobermore Road is closed for major road works

The road - used by hundreds of vehicles each day - had been scheduled to reopen to traffic this Sunday but this has had to be put back until March 22.

A TransportNI spokesperson said: “Work on the construction of the carriageway realignment scheme at A29 Killytoney is progressing well but has been delayed by poor weather.

“To enable the completion of the scheme by the end of March unfortunately it will be necessary to extend the road closure by one week until Sunday, March 22.”

While motorists using the busy route to the North West will experience inconvenience for another week, it will also continue to impact businesses at Desertmartin Road in the village.

Businessman Derek McClenaghan said the extended closure could well result in the closure of his chip shop.

“I would say over 70 per cent of my business comes from passing traffic and this extended closure of the road only adds to the nightmare,” he said.

“I’m in the dark as to what is going on. I don’t understand why it is taking so long to reopen the road.”

A number of other businesses are also understood to have suffered a downturn owing to the works.

DUP Mid-Ulster MLA Ian McCrea has written to the Roads Minister Danny Kennedy to ascertain if traders are entitled to compensation for loss of revenue.