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37-422: [REDACTED] A2 in Derry [REDACTED] A38 in Strabane B46 to Plumbridge [REDACTED] A32 in Omagh [REDACTED] A4 in Ballygawley The A5 is a major primary route in Northern Ireland . It links the city of Derry in County Londonderry with Aughnacloy, County Tyrone via the towns of Strabane and Omagh . Just south of Aughnacloy is the border with the Republic of Ireland , where

74-471: A hidden junction on a fast road, poor or concealed warning signs at a crossroads. For some decades treatment of accident blackspots (e.g. by signage, speed restrictions, improving sightlines, straightening bends, or speed cameras ) was a mainstay of road safety policy, but current thinking has it that the benefits of these interventions are often overstated. Effects such as regression to the mean , risk compensation and accident migration combine to reduce

111-528: A new consultation on its A5 Habitats Regulations Reports. 54°37′07″N 7°19′54″W  /  54.6185°N 7.3317°W  / 54.6185; -7.3317 A2 road (Northern Ireland) The A2 is a major road in Northern Ireland , a considerable length of which is often referred to the Antrim Coast Road because much of it follows the scenic coastline of County Antrim ; other parts of

148-438: A new road 100 feet (30 m) on the seaward side of the old one. The Council did the work largely by direct labour and started to acquire the plant and equipment needed for the job. The council opened a quarry and began to build a new embankment, but on the night of 31 October 1968 there was a one in 70-year storm that washed away the part of the causeway that had not yet been protected by rock armour. The work resumed in 1969 and

185-613: A reinforced concrete sea wall was built, again by direct labour. Altogether 97,000 tonnes of rock armour were placed and the scheme was completed in November 1970, over three years after the road was closed. William Bald was a civil engineer who left a great legacy to the people of the Glens of Antrim, and created one of the finest tourist routes in the World. But despite extensive research no portrait of him can be found. Bald has two memorials. The first

222-464: A result of this Bill, we shall see that rather ridiculous sign removed from British roads. In some cases it has been claimed that the end result of such interventions in accident blackspot areas is an increase in overall casualties. In one notable experiment, a number of accident blackspots were "treated" with a null treatment—placement of a garden gnome , according to some reports. Crash rates at these points were found to have decreased significantly in

259-678: A series of infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland. The funding was accepted and in November 2007 the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development announced that a route selection study had begun to upgrade the entire A5 route to dual-carriageway from the N2 at the Irish border near Aughnacloy, to Derry. Then it was decided that instead of upgrading the current road, a 58-mile (93 km) new dual carriageway would be built. The project

296-516: A suburban stretch through Jordanstown , Greenisland , Carrickfergus , Eden and Whitehead , the road enters open countryside on its way to Larne , where the most noteworthy section of the road, the Antrim Coast Road , begins. After winding around the eastern coast from Larne to Cushendall the road continues along the north coast to Ballycastle before travelling along the Giant's Causeway Coast to Portrush and on through Coleraine where it crosses

333-680: Is a small plaque on the road just north of Larne. A second memorial was erected in August 2008 in Burntisland by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Burntisland Heritage Trust. Ian Paisley , the long-standing Member of Parliament for North Antrim , called the road "one of the most beautiful in the whole of the United Kingdom". Owing to its length and the fact that it follows

370-629: Is called the A5 Western Transport Corridor, abbreviated to A5WTC. It was suggested that the new road would reduce journey times from Derry and Northern Donegal to Dublin by 20 minutes. In 2007 the cost was estimated at £560 million. This estimate was revised upwards to £650–850 million in November 2008, £844 in August 2009 and then reached £1.049 billion in October 2016. This will be both the longest and most expensive single road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland

407-760: The M3 , it continues through Belfast City Centre 's complex one-way system via the Queen's Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge , past the Custom House and on along Corporation Street, eventually joining York Road. Along this stretch and further out the Shore Road , the main route runs along the line of the M2 and M5 , to a point where the M5 ends in Newtownabbey in the northern suburbs of Belfast. After

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444-680: The Narrow Water bridge connecting the road to the R173 road in County Meath , under the Shared Island scheme. The Antrim Coast Road is regarded as one of the great tourist routes of the world. This part of the road has seen a dramatic increase in traffic in recent years (in particular during warmer weather). It runs along the coast for about 25 miles (40 kilometres), from the Black Arch near Larne to

481-814: The River Bann using the Coleraine Bridge and then Derry , where it crosses the River Foyle using the Craigavon Bridge . From Derry, there are two separate routes to the border with the Republic of Ireland : one branch becomes the N13 which continues to Letterkenny in County Donegal ; the other branch runs to Culmore , County Londonderry , meeting the border at Muff, County Donegal . In June 2024, construction began on

518-511: The county town of Omagh, where it has junctions with the A32 road to Enniskillen and A505 road to Cookstown . The A5 continues through the hamlets of Garvaghey and Ballymackilroy to a roundabout just outside Ballygawley where it meets the A4 Belfast – Enniskillen road. The two roads combine for a few hundred metres. The A5 continues to the border village of Aughnacloy. After Aughnacloy

555-458: The 1990s onwards an A5 bypass was also built in three stages through the town of Omagh. The first, central, stage was completed in the mid-1990s and diverted the A5 away from the town centre. In the late 1990s the second stage was completed, relieving the increasingly built-up northern parts of the town. In 2006, the final stage was opened, taking traffic away from housing developments on the southern edge of

592-487: The A5 have also been proposed by the DRD: In June 2008 Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy announced plans for a feasibility study into creating an A6 – A5 Link Road around Derry. However, this is not a commitment on behalf of his Department. In October 2006 senior Irish Government sources confirmed that the forthcoming National Development Plan for the years 2007 to 2013 would include plans to offer co-funding for

629-479: The A5 included a narrow section before a sharp right turn at a T-junction with the B46 to Plumbridge . This was followed by a left turn a short distance later through the southern part of the village, before meeting a dangerous right-hand bend which carried a 25 mph speed limit. A bypass of the village, using part of the route of the dismantled Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway , was completed and opened in 2003. From

666-602: The A5 meets the N2 to Dublin . Between them the A5 and N2 are the main road link between County Donegal in the Republic and Dublin. The A5 starts at a crossroads in Derry where the Craigavon Bridge meets the A2 . The A5 goes south skirting the River Foyle past Prehen and through the villages of New Buildings and across the county boundary into Tyrone at Magheramason . A dangerous bend leads up to

703-688: The A5. In 2011 a set of four public inquiries into the A5WTC was held. One was strategic, considering the proposal overall. The others were in three geographical sections: New Buildings to Sion Mills, Sion Mills to south of Omagh and south of Omagh to Aughnacloy. The first of these inquiries began in April 2011 and they continued for two months. Their report was submitted to the Minister for Regional Development in March 2012 and published in 31 July. A campaign umbrella group called

740-686: The Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A) had been founded in 2010 to oppose the A5WTC. In September 2012 the AA5A began legal proceedings against the A5WTC. A court heard the case in February 2013. The next month the judge rejected five of the six counts of the challenge. The judge upheld the challenge on one count, that the Department had failed to comply with the EU Habitats Directive . In April 2015 it

777-604: The Red Arch near Cushendall , passing through the villages of Ballygalley , Glenarm , Carnlough and Waterfoot . Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians should pay due care and attention as there are currently no cycle lanes and footpaths are infrequent. Early in the 19th century, in the reign of William IV , the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland reported that the Glens of Antrim were "cut off from any reasonable communication by

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814-523: The badness of roads over mountains and slopes varying from 1 in 6 to 1 in 12" . The Commissioners conceived a great project to build the Antrim Coast Road to give better access for the inhabitants, open up the Glens for trade, and give a form of unemployment relief. The Antrim Coast Road was promoted by the Commissioners, but it was their civil engineer, William Bald , who had the vision of building

851-410: The coast, the road passes a large number of Northern Ireland's tourist attractions. These include: Accident blackspot In road safety management, an accident blackspot or black spot is a place where road traffic collisions have historically been concentrated. It may have occurred for a variety of reasons, such as a sharp drop or corner in a straight road, so oncoming traffic is concealed,

888-452: The early 1990s, relieving outlying northern neighbourhoods and the town centre. In 2003 the bypass was extended to divert traffic from the Melmount area of Strabane. Both projects have relieved traffic in the town. A proposed third section is now "on hold" pending wider decisions on the future of the A5 (see next section). There was also bottleneck through the village of Newtownstewart , where

925-542: The geology of the Antrim Coast is Ulster White Limestone , greatly faulted and fissured, which bears a considerable overburden of basalt , also weathered and rotten near the surface. In February 1967 there was a major fall of rock onto the road south of Glenarm, and in May 1967 there was another which completely blocked the road. At this point the cliffs are about 330 feet (101 m) high so Antrim County Council decided to build

962-407: The greatest certainty and economy which reduces, in a great degree, the chance of those accidents to which the operation of the miners has been particularly liable." The Antrim Coast Road was completed in 1842 at a cost of £37,140 – some £12,000 over budget – much to the displeasure of the Commissioners. It then remained largely unchanged until the late 1960s. But there were frequent rockfalls because

999-457: The overall benefit. In 1973, Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu said in a debate in the House of Lords : One of the most ridiculous signs in this country is the "black spot" accident sign. If anything, this sign is a terrible reflection on the attitude of the road authorities. Accidents are caused by bad road design, and not by drivers looking for accidents. I hope that, as

1036-524: The road along the foot of the cliffs. He did so between 1832 and 1842, supervised by the County Surveyors of the day – Thomas Woodhouse (1832–1836) and Charles Lanyon (1836–1842). It was a great achievement for its day and made a great difference to the people of the Glens. Before the road was built they sailed across the North Channel to Scotland to trade their goods, because the short sea crossing

1073-517: The road continues via Ardglass to Strangford , where it uses a ferry across Strangford Lough to reach Portaferry . From there it meets the Irish Sea coast of the Ards Peninsula at Cloughey , and follows it through Portavogie , Ballyhalbert , Millisle and Donaghadee to Bangor, County Down , from where it becomes a major dual carriageway leading to Belfast . After its intersection with

1110-515: The road follow the coasts in Counties Down and Londonderry. Mainly a single lane in each direction, the road follows most of the coastline of Northern Ireland. It is connected in several places to other major roads. The road begins in the city of Newry , County Down and heads south-east over the alignment of the former Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway through the fishing towns of Warrenpoint , Rostrevor and Kilkeel . After Dundrum

1147-411: The road reaches the international border with County Monaghan where it becomes the N2 to Dublin , Ardee and Monaghan . The A5 does not contain any dual carriageway sections, and for many years the route brought traffic through a series of towns and villages which formed bottlenecks. Since the 1980s a bypass of Strabane has been built in two sections. The first section was completed and opened in

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1184-473: The sea. Bald decided to blast the cliff face which then fell down onto the foreshore to form the base for the new road. In his report to the Commissioners Bald stated: "30,0000 cubic yards of rock have been hurled down on the shore almost entirely by blasting, which has been executed by care and judgement. This has been greatly assisted by the use of Beckford's Patent Safety fuse , an invention of

1221-526: The town and diverting traffic from a bridge over the Drumragh river, the site of a dangerous S-bend and accident blackspot . The Department of Regional Development has confirmed that part of the A5 route at Tullyvar, between Ballygawley and Aughnacloy, will be realigned, as will the A4 at Annaghilla nearby. Advanced site clearance works began in November 2007 with construction expected in 2008. Other schemes to improve

1258-605: The village of Bready , after which the road passes through Ballymagorry. It by-passes the large town of Strabane , where it meets the A38 near Lifford Bridge , which crosses the Border to Lifford and the Republic onto the N15 near its junction with the N14 . After by-passing Strabane the A5 goes through the villages of Sion Mills and Victoria Bridge . It then by-passes Newtownstewart and continues to

1295-465: Was easier than travel by land to the nearest market town. William Bald had the vision of building the road along the foot of the cliffs, some of them over 330 feet (101 m) high. This was a novel idea, as previous plans had been to build the road some distance inland. But this would have meant steep gradients as the road traversed the valleys of the Glens as they ran down from the Antrim Plateau to

1332-462: Was meant to contribute €460 million of the cost. However, in May 2011 the Republic's Taoiseach Enda Kenny called for the project to "look at making savings". And in November 2011 the Republic announced that it could not make its £400 million contribution to the project. In 2024 the Irish Government confirmed funding worth €800 million (£685 million) for cross-border projects, including €600m for

1369-479: Was revealed that despite being at a standstill for eight years the A5WTC project had cost £72 million. In August 2016 the AA5A launched a second legal case against the A5WTC, apparently seeking a judicial review . A second public inquiry began in October 2016 and continued until December. Its report is awaited. In April 2017 the Department for Infrastructure (formerly the Department of Regional Development) launched

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