Status
|
Construction scheme
(current) |
Contractor
|
Sacyr, Wills Bros
and Somague consortium
|
Scheme
|
New
high-quality dual-carriageway to replace
the existing single-carriageway A6 from
Dungiven to Drumahoe, including
a bypass around the south side of
Dungiven (Phase 1) and then
from Drumahoe to the A2 at Gransha, and
an upgrade of the existing A2
dual-carriageway from Caw to Maydown
(Phase 2).
|
Total
Length
|
30.0 km / 18.8
miles
|
Dates
|
Mar 2005 - Pilot study
to select route from Castledawson to
Derry announced.
Dec 2005 - Funding
announced to build section from Dungiven
to Derry.
Feb 2007 -
Preliminary route corridor selected.
May 2008 - Five route
options published.
6 May 2009 -
Preferred route announced.
14 Dec 2011 - Draft
legal documents published.
Jan 2012 - Public exhibitions.
24 Sep 2012 to 2 Oct
2012 - Public Inquiry held.
ca End Mar 2013 -
Inspector submitted Public Inquiry
report.
24 Feb 2016 -
Departmental Statement published.
21 Feb 2017 -
Construction tender released.
15 Aug 2017 - Vesting
Order "made".
28 Mar 2018 - Contract awarded for
Dungiven to Drumahoe section (phase 1).
(changed from
"after 2015" as of Jan 2011, and
"early 2013" as of Jul 2010).
26 Sep 2018 -
Sod-cutting ceremony
Spring 2022 - Anticipated completion
|
Cost
|
£390-420m (as of Nov
2014) for whole scheme
(of which £220m for
phase 1, Dungiven to Drumahoe) as of Mar
2018
(Changed from
£230-255m for phase 1 as of Nov 2014;
£350-390m as of Mar 2011; £320-390m as
of Dec 2009; £320m as of Dec 2008 £300m
as of Jun 2008 and £250 million as of
2005)
|
Photos
|
See below. |
See
Also
|
General
area map.
Contractor's
web site on scheme
DFI
web site on scheme - very detailed
information and reports.
|
Click here to jump
straight down to updates for this scheme.
This major project
was first announced on 13 December 2005 by the
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain
as part of a larger investment package for the
city of Derry. It will see a dual-carriageway
bypass of Dungiven town and dualling of the
existing A6 from there to the A2 on the
north-eastern periphery of Derry city. The road
will be build to a high quality with two lanes
each way, no breaks in the central barrier and
fully grade separated junctions (ie flyovers).
Plans announced in 2004 for a single-carriageway
bypass of Dungiven at a cost of £11.1m were
subsumed by this much larger scheme, although
the preliminary work done was still useful. The
map below shows the section of the A6 affected
by this upgrade which finally got underway in
spring 2018:

Route
The
chosen route closely follows the existing A6,
but generally off to one side apart from an
onlien section around Burntollet. At the Derry
end it heads inland and bypasses Drumahoe well
to the north, terminating on the A2 at Caw. At
the eastern end it bypasses Dungiven to the
south. The most recent plan was published in
February 2016 and is accessible
here:
Strip Junction Map
This is a strip map of the design that was
published in May 2009, and is still correct as
of the updated design published in February
2016. Note that the design may change between
this map and construction due to the evolution
of the design, and the public inquiry.
|
WEST
Begins on
A2 dual-carriageway, Derry
2+2 lanes
|
STRADREAGH
or GRANSHA
|
A2 Clooney
Road
(into Derry)
|
|
Local
access
A2
Clooney
Road
(to Limavady)
|
|
5.3 km
/ 3.3 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
LISMACAROL
ROUNDABOUT
(DRUMAHOE)
|
A??
Glenshane
Road
(existing A6)
(into Derry).
|
|
Tirbracken
Road
|
|
2.8 km / 1.7 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
TAMNAHERIN
ROAD
(THE CROSS)
|
Local
access
Local
access
|
|
Tamnaherin
Road
|
|
2.0 km
/ 1.2 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
ARDMORE
ROAD
(BURNTOLLET)
Westbound access
only.
|
Faughan
River
Ardmore Road
.
|
|
Burntollet
Bridge
.
|
|
2.5 km / 1.6 miles -
2+2 lanes
|
KILLALOO
(GULF ROAD)
|
B74 Glenshane
Road
(Claudy west)
|
|
Gulf Road |
|
2.5 km / 1.5 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
BARANAILT ROAD
(CLAUDY)
|
B69 Baranailt
Road (into
Claudy)
|
|
B69
Baranailt
Road (towards
Limavady)
|
|
13.0 km / 8.1 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
FEENY
ROAD
(DUNGIVEN WEST)
|
|
|
B74 Feeny
Road (into
Dungiven)
|
|
2.5 km
/ 1.6 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
MAGHERABUOY
ROUNDABOUT
(DUNGIVEN EAST)
|
|
|
B?
Glenshane
Road
(existing A6;
into
Dungiven)
Local
access
|
|
EAST
Terminates
as single-carriageway
A6 towards Belfast
1 lane each way
|
Updates
22 Dec 2020: This is a brief update to
report on the significant change at Burntollet,
where traffic was switched onto the northern
half of the new bridge overnight on 18/19
December. Traffic was also switched onto the
future eastbound carriageway from Burntollet all
the way to the future Killaloo junction, a
distance of about 2.5 km. This marks a
significant milestone in this confined part of
the scheme. The next step, as summarised in Pic
1 below, will be to demolish the existing 20th
century (1950s) bridge and then build the
southern half of the new bridge. There are two
photos below showing the new layout, taken by
Alan Lynas. But before we come to the photos, I
need to share links to some superb third party
material:
- Superb
drone footage taken by Sky Photography,
showing the route from Liberty Glen (near the
Belfray) to Burntollet, a few days before the
switch-over happened.
- A series of lovely
aerial photos by Aerial Vision NI of the
stretch of the A6 from Dungiven to Foreglen.
- Footage
taken from a car by Diarmaid
Macfheargail showing Burntollet. The first
part of the video is taken travelling towards
Derry before the switch-over. The second part
of the video is taken travelling towards
Belfast after the switch-over and crossing the
new bridge, and then travelling about 5 km
further east past Killaloo to near Claudy! The
smooth vertical alignment of the new
Burntollet Bridge means it's easy to miss it
in the movie! With thanks to Paul McCloskey
for flagging this video.

Pic 1: The stages of work at Burntollet Bridge.
We have just completed stage (3). The next
phase, which I would expect to see in January
2021, will be stage (4), the demolition of the
1950s bridge.

Pic 2: View of the first half of Burntollet
Bridge open and in use on 20 December 2020. This
was very fast work, given that the approach
embankments were barely started six weeks ago.
Well done to the contractor. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 3: Same location as pic 2, but looking
towards Derry. All traffic is using the future
eastbound carriageway. The old A6 ran where the
digger is, and hugging the trees beyond. This
line has now been excavated and dropped down in
height by a couple of metres in order to give a
better vertical alignment for the future
westbound carriageway. [Alan Lynas]
8 Dec 2020: In this update there is more
material than you can shake a stick at. We have
several aerial videos, so many in fact that I am
not able to provide a commentary on them this
time. After the video links I then include a
series of photographs with captions that detail
a bit more about what is happening. Thank you to
everyone who sends photos; this scheme really
has attracted a huge amount of interest. So
first, the videos:
Four taken on 22 Nov 2020, by the amazing
Benbradagh:
- Movie
1 – from the east side of Dungiven to
Derrychrier Road, west of the town.
- Movie
2 - from the batching plant at
Derrychrier Road, through Ovil Hill cutting,
to near Ballyhanedin Road.
- Movie
3 - from Ballyhanedin Road to just after
Baranailt Road, Claudy.
- Movie
4 - from just west of Baranailt Road,
Claudy, past Burntollet, to the terminus of
the scheme at Drumahoe.
And a more recent movie taken on 6 Dec 2020,
also by Benbradagh:
- Movie
5 - travelling east from Killunaught
Road (near Foreglen, just east of Ovil Hill
cutting) to Chapel Road, Dungiven.
Some particular news that is worth
highlighting:
- At Ardmore Road bridge, a side road near
Burntollet, beams have been lifted into place
over the past week.
- Tamnaherin Road, a side road about 2km west
of Burntollet, will be closed to traffic at
the current A6 from 4 January for 4 months, to
allow work to take place on the new bridge for
the future junction there.
- Ballyhanedin Road, on the rural stretch
between Foreglen and Claudy, will also be
closed to traffic at the current A6 from 4
January, for 6-and-a-half months, to allow
work on the new bridge that will carry it over
the new road.
And now on to the photographs. As usual, these
are arranged in order from the Derry end and
moving towards Dungiven.

Pic 1: The "temporary" terminus of the scheme at
Drumahoe on 1 Dec 2020. The new Lismacarol
roundabout is complete, but not operating as a
roundabout yet, with traffic being diverted
round one side of it for the time being. The
Park-and-Ride is also completed but not yet in
use. Some blacktop is also being laid on the
future westbound offslip. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 2: Similar view to the previous shot, but
moving slightly east to show McCay's
accommodation overbridge on 1 Dec 2020, which
appears to be completed. The original access
laneway is still in place beyond it. The cutting
here appears to have been planted with grass and
native trees. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 3: It is hard to see progress at Liberty
Glen (at the Belfray) from the main road, but
this photo on 1 Dec 2020 confirms that work is
well underway on what will be the longest bridge
on the whole scheme. It will consist of three
separate spans with two sets of five
intermediate pillars well advanced, and work
also underway on the abutments. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 4: This ground-level shot of Liberty Glen
bridge was taken on 1 Dec 2020. The person in
yellow high-vis shows how tall these pillars
are. [Arthur Ming]

Pic 5: This view looking south-east from above
Liberty Glen shows earthworks underway on the
future dual-carriageway towards the future
Tamnaherin Road junction on 1 Dec 2020. The
existing A6 here will remain in situ for local
access. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 6: The site of the future Tamnaherin Road
junction on 1 Dec 2020. All traffic is being
diverted round the site while piling takes place
for the new underbridge that will carry
Tamnaherin Road beneath the new road. In January
Tamnaherin Road (going off to the left) will be
closed to allow work on the approach cutting.
[AerialVisionNI]

Pic 7: View east towards Burntollet from
Tamnaherin Road on 1 Dec 2020. The earthworks
are on the route of the original A6, but all
traffic is currently being diverted onto the new
Ervery link road, visible on the left here, to
allow construction of The Oaks accommodation
bridge (the black patch beyond the diggers).
[AerialVisionNI]

Pic 8: Burntollet Bridge as seen on 1 Dec 2020,
with the deck of the northern half of the new
bridge well underway. The word on the street is
that this half of the bridge is due to be
completed by the end of the year. At this point,
traffic will likely to be switched onto it to
allow the 1950s bridge to be demolished. On the
extreme left you can see one of the abutments
for the Ardmore Road bridge over the Faughan
River. Since this photo was taken the beams have
been placed on this bridge. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 9: View of Burntollet Bridge on 29 Nov 2020,
showing that the embankments on either side have
been significantly built up over the course of
November, to the height needed to construct the
road over. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 10: View east from Burntollet on 1 Dec 2020,
showing the large cutting that has been needed
to widen the road here. The steep drop into the
River Faughan on the right shows why the cutting
was needed. The future eastbound carriageway has
been surfaced for a long distance – traffic
could be transferred onto this section of road
and over the Burntollet Bridge soon, perhaps by
January. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 11: Gulf Road (Killaloo) junction as seen
looking east on 1 Dec 2020, with blacktop laid
on long stretches into the distance. The pattern
of sliproads is clearly evident here, but work
on the bridge is not very advanced due to the
awkward position of the current A6 here. I
suspect the plan here is to divert traffic onto
a stretch of the new carriageway here, to allow
the other bridge abutment to be built. The
existing A6 will remain in situ here, but it
will be reduced in width to serve as a minor
access road. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 12: Superb aerial shot of the Baranailt Road
(Claudy) junction on 1 Dec 2020 showing the
largely-completed underbridge, as well as the
earthworks for the westbound sliproads in the
foreground. From here to Dungiven the existing
A6 will remain as a B-classified local road
running parallel to the new road.
[AerialVisionNI]

Pic 13: Gortilea Bridge sitting in splendid
isolation on 1 Dec 2020. This photo reveals why
nothing much seems to be happening - the area of
brown earth to the left of the bridge seems to
have vertical drains sticking out of it. That
suggests that the ground here has been
surcharged with extra material to encourage the
soft ground to settle. It will have to remain
like this for a period of months until movement
stops before the approach embankment can be
completed. [AerialVisionNI]

Pic 14: The site of the future Ballyhanedin Road
overbridge on 1 Dec 2020 (where all the yellow
vehicles are). The new A6 runs beside, and at a
lower elevation than, the old A6. Ballynahedin
Road, which runs at 45° here, will be closed in
January until the summer to allow the new bridge
and its approach embankment to be completed. Two
culverts for a local watercourse are also
evident here. [AerialVisionNI]
Not shown in this sequence of
photos is Killunaught Road, near Foreglen, where
work on the new overbridge also seems to now be
underway. It can be seen in Movie 5, linked at
the top of this update.

Pic 15: View of the completed Owenrigh River
Bridge and the Magheramore Road overbridge on 28
Nov 2020. It looks as if Magheramore Road
overbridge is largely completed, so the next
step will be to reinstate the road over it and
remove the temporary road beside it. The cutting
here has been landscaped with grass and trees.
Beyond the cutting is the site of the River Roe
bridge, seen below. [Les Ross]

Pic 16: A lovely shot of the work underway on
the River Roe bridge, near Dungiven, on 28 Nov
2020. This bridge, like the one at Liberty Glen,
consists of three spans and is at quite a height
above the river on soft ground, hence the huge
amount of work needed. The embankment on the far
side looks like a ski jump, but this is an
illusion! [Les Ross]
15 Nov 2020: Work has progressed very
well over the past two months, and continues to
attract a lot of interest from the travelling
public. There is now only about a
year-and-a-half until the scheme is completed,
so we are well past the half-way point. Below I
present 16 photos with thanks to the prolific
Paul McCloskey, as well as the Burntollet
reporter-in-situ Alan Lynas - thank you both! -
and the DFI. In addition, there are a couple of
aerial movies that I link to at appropriate
points. The photos are are arranged in order
from east (Dungiven end) to west (Derry end).

Pic 1: Work now appears to have begun on
Magherabuoy roundabout, which is where the
scheme will begin, at the east side of Dungiven.
This is the view actross the existing A6 on 8
Nov 2020 towards the site works now underway.
You can see an aerial view of the site here
– Magherabuoy roundabout being on the right hand
side. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 2: Priory Lane, which gives access to
Dungiven Priory, is currently closed but will be
re-routed over the new bridge. This is the new
road under construction on 8 Nov 2020. You can
see the bridge in this
aerial view, visible by the pink waterproof
course on the bridge deck. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 3: Work on the future River Roe bridge,
which is a complex structure on challenging
ground, underway on 8 Nov 2020 with the western
bridge piers and abutments looking close to
completion. Work on the eastern piers and
abutment is less advanced. We could see a beam
lift here before the end of the winter. You can
see an aerial view of the bridge here.
[Paul McCloskey]

Pic 4: Moving west to Magheramore Road, this is
the view north-east across a rather waterlogged
site beneath Magheramore Road bridge on 8 Nov
2020. The huge cutting here is complete, with
some tree planting apparent too, but less work
on the new road itself. [Paul McCloskey]
This
is a link to an aerial movie of the whole
Dungiven Bypass, starting near the (as yet
unbuilt) River Owenbeg bridge at 2:50, passing
the site of Feeny Road junction at 3:30, the
completed Owenrigh river bridge and adjacent
Magheramore Road bridge at 4:10, the (under
construction) River Roe bridge at 4:40 and
reaching the site of the future Magherabuoy
roundabout at 5:15. Note how well-advanced the
stretch of dual-carriageway between Feeny Road
and Magheramore Road is.

Pic 5: View across the top of the Magheramore
Road bridge on 8 Nov 2020, with the bridge deck
complete, fencing in place and just awaiting the
tarmac! [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 6: View west from Magheramore Road on 8 Nov
2020 showing the new road now being constructed
over the completed Owenrigh River bridge, and a
very well-developed road snaking off into the
distance towards Feeny Road. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 7: Moving further west to Feeny Road, this
is the view east (back towards Magheramore Road)
beneath the new bridge on 8 Nov 2020. This will
eventually be a grade-separated junction. Note
more tree planting along the banks here. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 8: Derrychrier Road (Lower Ovil Road)
finally re-opened to traffic on 12 Nov 2020.
This is it on 13 Nov 2020, with work on the new
road evident above. Local resident Esther Harper
took
a movie of her first drive through it. The
length of the underpass (which runs at a skew)
bears witness to the width of the new
dual-carriageway above. [DFI]

Pic 9: Altagarron Road underpass, near Foreglen,
opened to traffic during October. This view was
taken on 17 Oct 2020. The bridge at Killunaught
Road (half way between Derrychrier Road and
Altagarron Road) is not due to open until summer
2021. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 10: Work on Ballyhanedin Road bridge
continues at a slow pace, with a bit more work
evident on the northern abutment (on the left)
since September. This is the view on 8 Nov 2020.
A kilometres west of here is Gortilea Road
bridge which is completed but not open. The
contractor has said that they plan to open the
road and bridge in the spring of 2021. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 11: View east along the existing A6 towards
the new bridge at Baranailt Road, Claudy, on 8
Nov 2020. The new dual-carriageway will run on
the right, a couple of metres higher than the
current road, which will be retained only as far
as the house on the left, for local access. To
get a better idea of the progress on this
junction see this
aerial movie, with thanks to Sky
Photography. Baranailt Road into Claudy is
currently closed for reconstruction (at around
1:00 in the video) but is scheduled to reopen at
the end of April 2021. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 12: Between Baranailt Road and Killaloo
junction motorists have a grandstand view of
work on the future dual-carriageway adjacent to
the current road, which will be retained for
local access. This view is looking east on 8 Nov
2020 showing work well advanced with blacktop in
place on long stretches. This is also evident
from 2:15 in this
movie. Very impressive work here. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 13: Not much has changed at the future
Killaloo junction (Gulf Road at Claudy west) on
8 Nov 2020. The southern abutment and central
piers are in place, but further work will
require traffic to be moved away from the
existing road. Gulf Road is due to re-open in
autumn 2021, a year from now. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 14: View looking east along the new road not
far from Brackfield Bawn, just east of
Burntollet on 26 Oct 2020. This shows the new
cutting straight ahead, with multiple gullies
evident, probably caused by recent heavy rain.
It will take time for vegetation to stabilise
the soil here. At its base is the future
eastbound carriageway with blacktop in place,
while all traffic is currently on the old road,
in the foreground. Presumably traffic will be
moved onto the new stretch of road soon to allow
the old road to be reconstructed to become the
westbound carriageway. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 15: Three months on from the beam-lift at
Burntollet bridge, work has progressed on the
deck with concrete being poured during October.
This view was taken on 15 Nov 2020. Once the
deck is completed, the embankments will need
built up at either side to allow the road to be
built over the top. Once traffic is using this
part of the new bridge, the old bridge (on the
right) will be demolished and work will begin on
the second half of the bridge. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 16: View west from Burntollet on 15 Nov 2020
– all traffic continues to use the temporary
road visible here. Meanwhile the old A6 has now
been completely removed as part of work to form
the base of the new road. Ardmore Road, which is
off-camera to the left here, will be closed at
this point on 25 November for twelve months, to
allow cosntruction of the new Ardmore Road
bridge (at The Oaks). [Alan Lynas]
I have no photos of the
Tamnaherin Road or Derry end of the scheme, but
the park-and-ride at Drumahoe is now complete
and just awaiting a bus service. Work will
presumably also begin soon at Liberty Glen, if
it has not already done so, as it is the largest
bridge structure on the whole scheme.
25 Sep 2020: Tomorrow marks the second
anniversary of the sod-cutting ceremony that
started the scheme in 2018. With only 18 months
left to go, we are now well past the half-way
mark and much progress continues to be made.
Unfortunately the YouTube aerial videos that I
linked to in the previous update (below, 18 Aug)
are no longer available, which is a shame.
Nevertheless, we have a whole series of photos
once again, thanks to Andrew Bratton, Dee Logue,
Alan Lynas, Paul McCloskey and Polyanne. Thank
you once again. The photos are, as always,
arranged in order from Derry towards Dungiven.
In other news, the project received another
£14.8m of funding (from the COVID emergency
fund!) this week. As the project crosses
multiple financial years, a budget allocation is
needed every year to keep the project funding,
though once the contract has been signed such
funding is really a given. The contractor has
indicated that traffic may be moved onto
sections of the new road before Christmas, which
would be an exciting moment.

Pic 1: The new park-and-ride facility at
Drumahoe very close to completion, as seen on 15
September 2020. The facility will probably open
soon, along with the new Lismacarol roundabout
on Tirbracken Road. The branding suggests
Ulsterbus Goldliners will stop there. [Andrew
Bratton]

Pic 2: During the weekend of 18 to 21 September
2020 work was carried out to construct the
future alignment of Tirbracken Road, which will
lead traffic leaving Derry directly to the new
Lismacarol roundabout. This is a line of road
surfacing plant machinery waiting to be used on
the Saturday of the works, beside the existing
Tirbracken Road. [Dee Logue]

Pic 3: Another view of the realignment works
taking place on the A6 at Drumahoe on Sunday, 20
September 2020 with surfacing works well
underway. The original A6 curves to the right,
whereas in the future it will run along the new
line straight ahead. Traffic will still use the
old alignment for the time being, but will be
diverted along here once the new road opens. This
is the same view before work began.
[Andrew Bratton]

Pic 4: Panorama of the site of the future
flyover at Tamnaherin Road on 15 September 2020.
The previous landscape here has been completely
obliterated, but basically the original A6 ran
left-right across the site, with Tamnaherin Road
running from roughly where the photographer is
standing to join the A6 at a T-junction.
Currently all traffic is being diverted around
the site on a temporary loop of road behind the
camera. The two white sites mark the locations
of the two abutments. Piling for these has since
begun, as captured in a video
by Polyanne on 23 September. [Polyanne]

Pic 5: Since the beam lift at Burntollet six
weeks ago, much work has taken place to join the
six steel beams together to form the base for
the bridge deck. Taken on 9 September 2020. The
plan is to complete this half of the bridge,
build the approach embankments and divert all
traffic onto it, probably in the first half of
2021. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 6: View east towards Killaloo junction (Gulf
Road, for Claudy west) on 20 September 2020. The
south abutment and central piers have been
built, but no work has yet started on the north
abutment as the existing A6 is currently
occupying the site. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 7: View looking west towards the completed
bridge that will carry the new dual-carriageway
over Baranailt Road, Claudy on 20 September
2020. The embankment being formed ahead is for
both the new road and the westbound sliproad
loop which will curve round to join Baranailt
Road just to the left here. The patio chair on
the right is a nice touch. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 8: Gortilea Road bridge, seen looking across
the existing A6 on 6 September 2020. Nothing
much has happened here since the bridge was
completed in July. At some point a large
embankment needs to be built at the far side to
allow Gortilea Road (visible going up the hill
in a straight line, a feature typical of 18th
century roads) to be connected and reopened. The
future road will run under the new bridge at a
lower elevation. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 9: About 2 km east of Gortilea Road bridge
is Ballyhanedin Road Bridge, seen here looking
east on 20 September 2020. Not a lot has
happened here either, with the central piers
built, and both abutments underway. A lot of
earthworks are, however, evident in the
distance. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 10: This is Altagarran Road underpass as it
was on 13 September 2020, now completed but with
Altagarran Road still not reopened to traffic.
The embankment for the future A6 has now been
constructed here, showing how high it rises
above the existing landscape at this point. This
is the same view before work began. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 11: View east towards Feeny Road overbridge
on 13 September 2020. The bridge appears to be
largely completed, with the foundations of the
dual-carriageway itself now taking shape below
it. Traffic may be diverted onto this bridge
during the autumn. [Paul McCloskey]

Pic 12: View west towards Magheramore Road
overbridge, near Dungiven, on 20 September 2020.
Taken from the "old" Teeavan Road, which has now
been diverted to make way for the enormous
cutting that can be seen here. This
is the same view before work began. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 13: View from Magheramore Road near Dungiven
on 20 September 2020 showing the completed
Owenrigh river bridge, sporting its shiny new
red waterproofing layer. The alignment of the
future road is taking shape beyond. [Paul
McCloskey]

Pic 14: View looking west from near Beech Green
Lane, Dungiven, on 20 September 2020. The white
crane visible right of centre is working on the
abutments of the future River Roe bridge. It has
yet to receive its bridge beams. Magheramore
Road bridge can just be seen in the distance.
[Paul McCloskey]

Pic 15: Looking east from near Beech Green Lane,
Dungiven, on 20 September 2020, showing the
largely-completed Priory Lane overbridge beyond
the cutting. Traffic has yet to be diverted onto
this bridge too. [Paul McCloskey]
Older updates can be found in the archive.
Background to Scheme
The Regional Strategic Transport Plan,
published in 2004, explained why it was thought
that further dualling of the 40km of the A6
beyond Castledawson could not go ahead before
2015:
B3.3.41 When the funding envisaged by RTS
is extended to 2015, there would be £529.4m
available for Strategic Road Improvements in
the RSTN TP period. However, this is fully
taken up by the high priority SRIs proposed
across the RSTN, including the £171.9m
envisaged for SRI schemes on routes serving
the North-West. Therefore, within the
funding assumptions of this Plan, it would
not be realistic to expect that further
dualling of the A6 could be undertaken
within the Plan period (apart from the
Randalstown to Castledawson section already
proposed). B3.3.42 However, further dualling
of the A6 will be required outside the RSTN
Plan period, in order to develop and upgrade
the link between Northern Ireland’s two
largest cities by 2025. Therefore, during
the Plan period it will be necessary to plan
the route of a dual carriageway between
Castledawson and Derry, by undertaking a
route selection study. This will inform the
decision regarding the acquisition of land
and route protection lines, e.g. for the
Dungiven Bypass.
This lack of funding
was rectified suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly
in December 2005 by the announcement of
sufficient funding for the Dungiven to Derry
section. Prophetically, the RSTN did comment
that "It is... likely that future dualling
in the 2015 to 2025 period will commence at
the Londonderry end of the route." This
is because traffic levels are highest at the
Toome and Derry ends of the A6, and lowest at
the Glenshane Pass and because of the difficult
terrain crossing the Sperrins. Traffic figures
collected in 2004 showed the following daily
traffic at various points on the A6:
- Toome - 21160 vehicles
- Castledawson - 14880 vehicles
- Ranaghan (Glenshane Pass) - 10470 vehicles
- Western edge of Dungiven - 13820 vehicles
- Altnagelvin, Londonderry - 12930 vehicles
- Rossdowney, Londonderry - 26930 vehicles
Thanks to Diarmaid Elder for the traffic
information on this page.
Photos

A typical view of the A6
road in its current form, here seen near
Dungiven. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]
Dungiven town centre is
the biggest bottleneck on the route, and will
get a bypass. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]
Lots more photos of
the road are available on the Roads Service web
site - see link at the top of this page.
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