The A32 is the principle route between Omagh and Enniskillen and passes through the towns of Dromore and Irvinestown. Now that there is a plan to replace the acute functions of Omagh's Tyrone County Hospital and Enniskillen's Erne Hospital with a new hospital to the north of Enniskillen, the government has planned a series of improvements to the A32. These take the form of realignments in some places, and 2+1 overtaking opportunities at others. It's not clear if all of the "widening" schemes mean an upgrade to 2+1 standard.

The map below appeared on the Roads Service web site in summer 2008 and gives an indication of the current thinking on where the upgrades will be. This suggests that at least some preliminary work has been carried out on this project. Information as of Nov 2009 is that three of the improvements will take place prior to the opening of the new acute hospital in Enniskillen in 2012:

• Esker Bog (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment and widening
• Sidaire (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - widening
• Shannaragh (between Omagh and Dromore) - realignment and widening

In addition, three of the improvements will apparently be constructed "after the opening of the new acute hospital" (as of March 2009):

• Cornamuck (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment
• New Park (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment
• Kilgortnaleague (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - realignment and widening

A seventh scheme was included in lists during 2008, but no timescale has been provided:

• Drumbulcan (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - widening

Finally, in this leaflet issued in November 2008, an eighth scheme was added:

• Mullaghbane (about 1km north of Shannaragh, between Dromore and Omagh) - realignment and widening over 0.7km. This scheme was carried out in the first half of 2009.

Photos

The A32 near Kilgortnaleague, looking north across the Ballinamallard River bridge. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Kenneth Allen and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Updates

23 January 2010: The Esker Bog and Sidaire schemes have appeared on Roads Service's "future tenders" list. The tender for the Esker Bog scheme is due to be released in August 2010, while the Sidaire one is due to be released in December 2010.

22 November 2009: This press release from last week outlines the current position on this scheme. The Esker Bog scheme will apparently commence "this financial year" subject to land acquision. This presumably means by April 2010. The Sidaire and Shannaragh schemes are expected to commence in "early 2011" subject to land acquisition and available funding. There are no updates on the remaining four schemes.

7 June 2009: According to this press release from about 3 weeks ago, the scheme at Mullaghbane was nearly completed while the scheme at Sidaire may proceed "later this year if land acquisition is successful". A public exhibition on the Shannaragh scheme took place on 28 May 2009. The current position, therefore, is that of the 8 schemes planned for the A32, one is completed with seven still to proceed.

11 Apr 2009: According to latest information, the scheme at Mullaghbane is actually underway now, with completion due in May 2009. Work apparently began there in late January and involves both carraigeway widening and realignment over a distance of 0.7km. The contractor is James Balfour & Sons Ltd. The same information states that the scheme at Sidaire is due to get underway next, likely by April 2010 (subject to acquisition of land) at a cost of around £800,000. Information on the Roads Service web site, meanwhile, suggests that the tender for the Esker Bog scheme will be released in Spring 2010. This suggests construction *might* happen in 2011. The remaining schemes are described as "a rolling programme" which we believe are to be completed by 2015.

2 Mar 2009: The Regional Development Minister answered a question in Stormont on the timescale of these improvements. In his reply, the Minister confirmed that the schemes would proceed separately, with only two of them (at Esker Bog and Sidare) being planned to open before the new hospital in Enniskillen opens (currently planned for 2012). The reply also mentions four of the other schemes which he says will open after the hospital. The reply makes no mention of the schemes at Drumbulcan and Mullaghbane. It thus seems as if these improvements will be provided over a period of several years, rather than all at once in a single contract. The reply also confirms that the DRD is contributing £10m, and the Department of Health £5m "to facilitate blue light services on this stretch of road".

2 Feb 2009: Over the past few months this scheme (or series of schemes) has been moved into the preparation pool, meaning that construction is anticipated within the next five years. In November 2008 a leaflet was issued about these proposals, the wording of which suggests that the various elements will be implemented separately, and that some will involve building short stretches of road offline. The leaflet gives the rationale for the project as being to "reduce journey times, provide a safer route and improve journeys for Accident & Emergency services".