Cookstown suffers from traffic congestion because the main A29 route through the town centre is also the main commercial street. Traffic levels on the A29 in 2007 were 17,900/day north of the town and 9600/day south of the town. 48% of traffic in the town is going through the town, according to the Stage 1 Scheme Assessment Report. It is estimated that a new bypass would be carrying 22,000 vehicles per day if it was open in 2014, and 35,000 per day by 2029. New developments are increasing pressure on this route and the need for an alternative route to service these areas is growing. This plan would see a new single-carriageway bypass constructed to the east of the town centre. The route as proposed in the Sub-Regional Transport Plan is shown in the map below (a screenshot from Google Earth). Note, however, this route is just a suggestion of the SRTP and may not be the one built.

Route as proposed in 2006

Beginning on the A29 Moneymore Road north of the town, the route follows the existing 600 metre "East Circular Road", constructed in the mid 2000s by a private developer. From here the route crosses the Coagh Road and terminates on the existing roundabout at the junction of Dungannon Road and Tullywiggan Road south of the town. The route shown on the map above was the one publicised in 2006. However, note that in this sort of project the route is likely to change as the scheme is progressed and consultations and site surveys take place.

Progress

16 June 2009: The Regional Development Minister gave an update on the scheme last week. He said that "Design work on the proposed Cookstown bypass is progressing well. A public consultation event was held in January of this year and feedback from this, together with on-going design work will facilitate a further public information event to announce the preferred route alignment later this financial year." This may mean that the preferred route announcement may not be announced until Spring 2010, a little later than was hoped last year.

16 May 2009: A few months ago, the detailed initial "Scheme Assessment Report" was issued and is available on the Roads Service web site. Although the web site is giving the cost as "£13.1m", the document itself gives the cost of the scheme as being massively higher - in the range £27.4m to £43.9m depending on the route chosen. The document recommends that the eastern route is the best route, although it also recommends an additional road (called the Sandholes Link Road) to link the new road to the A505 Drum Road to the west of the town. The eastern route will now be developed further and route options developed. Last October it was said that the preferred route would be announced "later in 2009".

21 Oct 2008: According to an Assembly written answer on 17 October, the preferred route corridor (the general route of the road) is due to be announced "later this financial year", which we can take to mean sometime around Spring 2009. The specific preferred route (the exact route within the corridor) is scheduled to be announced "later in 2009".

16 Sep 2008: Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong has claimed that he has had correspondence from Roads Service to the effect that this scheme will go ahead in 2012 with completion in 2014. This is in contradiction to previous official information with has been that this scheme is in the "forward planning schedule", which generally applies to scheme that are at least five years away from commencement. Nevertheless, if this information is accurate, then it means that the scheme may have been moved to the "preparation pool" for schemes that are within five years of commencment. However it is also important to remember that the anticipated start dates for the majority of new road schemes tended to get later over time, so this date of 2012 may well prove to be on the optimistic side. It is still unknown what contribution, if any, private developers will make.

7 Mar 2008: As of now, only the short 600 metre section of the road at its northern end has been completed. Consultants were appointed in June 2007 to progress a design, but according to this written answer, such roads can typically take "at least six years to progress". This should not be taken as a definite timescale, but rather a general indication that construction is not imminent. Private developers may, of course, progress parts of the scheme earlier than this.