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.

The upgrades consist of the following:

• Mullaghbane (between Dromore and Omagh) - realignment and widening over 0.7km. This scheme was carried out in the first half of 2009.
• Shannaragh (between Omagh and Dromore) - realignment and widening
• Esker Bog (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment and widening
• Cornamuck (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment
• New Park (between Dromore and Irvinestown) - realignment
• Drumbulcan (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - widening
• Sidaire (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - widening
• Kilgortnaleague (between Irvinestown and Enniskillen) - realignment and widening

The map below shows the location of all but the first of these schemes.

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

5 June 2010: According to this press release, work on the Shannaragh scheme is now expected to commence "in 2012", which is a year later than anticipated in November. Bizzarely, the press release also says that the Mullaghbane scheme "is nearing completion" despite the fact that a press release issued over a year ago claims the same thing! Strange time warps on the A32... So far only one of these eight associated schemes has been carried out. This press release notes that design work is being carried out on the Kilgortnaleague scheme at the Enniskillen end. The Sidaire scheme is still on the Roads Service "future tenders" list (release date Dec 2010), but the Esker Bog scheme has inexplicably now disappeared from the list. However, a new scheme called "Drumskinny" has now appeared (with a release planned for Sep 2010). This may be the same thing, or it may be a nearby scheme previously referred to as Cornamuck. Who knows? It is not helpful to the public if Roads Service are changing the names of schemes half way through the planning process!

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".