The town of Magherafelt lies on the A31 route which connects the south west of the province (Tyrone, Fermanagh) to the north east (Coleraine, Ballymena etc). It is thus used quite heavily. Traffic currently passes through the town centre as there is no realistic alternative route. This scheme will see a single-carriageway bypass constructed around the eastern edge of the town connecting Moneymore Road and Castledawson Road.

The scheme is currently in the "forward planning schedule" which contains schemes likely to be constructed "in the next ten years". In early 2008 planners indicated that in a "best case" scenario, and subject to funding being available, construction could begin in 2011. However, the document "Investment Delivery Plan For Roads" published in April 2008 showed that funding will not be available until at least 2013. The cost of £9.4m publicised in 2005 had increased to £13m by the time this public consultation was released in July 2006, and had risen considerably to £33m by May 2008. These costs are partly due to construction inflation and partly due to the increasingly ambitious nature of the design.

Route

This map, released to the public in January 2008, shows the route of the proposed road running from the existing Castledawson roundabout in the north round the east side of the town. A more detailed map can be found on pages 6-7 of the Summary Environmental Impact Statement.

The new road will have four roundabouts with three stretches of road between them. The road would have no other junctions between the roundabouts. The first roundabout is the existing Castledawson Roundabout on the A6. The road then continues to a roundabout on Aughrim Road, then a roundabout on Ballyronan Road and finally terminates at a new roundabout on the existing A31 Moneymore Road south of the town at Coolshinny Road. Bridges will carry the road over Killyfaddy Road and Loves Road, while Killyneese Road will be severed by the new road. This route passes through some very boggy land, which has likely added considerably to the cost as the foundations will have be dug quite deep. The design will feature one or more stretches of 2+1 carriageway (two lanes in one direction, one in the other).

Earlier Route Options

This map (a screenshot from Google Earth) shows the approximate routes as proposed in an EARLIER a leaflet released to the public in October 2007. It shows the so-called blue (innermost) route, the purple (middle) route and the pink (outer) route. The 2005 Transport Plan proposed the blue route, which is identical to a plan first published in 1976, with the other two options being added during 2007. This screenshot from Google Earth shows the proposed routes (note again that this is approximate):

Progress

Update 16 May 2008: Roads Service has published two statutory notices: the Notice of Intention to Make a Direction Order (needed to legally create a new trunk road) and Notice of Intention to Make a Vesting Order (needed to acquire the required land). This press release from May 2008 suggests that the cost has jumped almost 300% from £13m to £33m. This is a huge jump, but is likely due to the fact that the chosen route is much longer and over much more challenging terrain than previously estimated. In addition, the "Investment Delivery Plan For Roads" published in April 2008 has made it clear that the scheme will not begin until at least 2013, due to money shortages, and could be even later than this.

Update 3 Mar 2008: A leaflet was released by Roads Service in February which gave further details of what is proposed. The project will consist of a high-quality single-carriageway road with 1m wide hard strips. Other than the four roundabouts (see map above) there will be no other accesses, with minor roads either closed, diverted or bridged. The proposed route now differs from that first proposed in 2005 since it now follows an offline route all the way to the Castledawson roundabout, instead of simply joining the A31 at the northern edge of the town. There is also an indication that some sections of the road will feature a 2+1 overtaking lane arrangement. Subject to a smooth run through statutory processes, work may begin in 2011 with completion two years later

Update 17 Nov 2007: According to a news article in the Mid Ulster Mail on 18 Oct 2007, the consultants who were appointed in 2006 have now added two further route options in addition to the one included in the original consultation document "within a large study area to the East and the North of the town". The final route may be one of these, or a combination of them. A further consulation will apparently take place once the Preferred Route has been decided.