Strabane is a regional town in the north west of county Tyrone and only a few hundred metres from the border with the Republic of Ireland. It straddles the strategic A5 route which as well as being the main north-south route in the west of the province is also part of the main Dublin to Londonderry route. Since the town is quite large, traffic in the centre had become chronic.

The Strabane Bypass has been planned for many years and construction proceeded in three stages. The first stage involved building the northern part of the bypass, while the second stage extended it round to the southern end of the town. These phases carried around 12,000 vehicles per day upon opening.

A third and final stage, which will see the bypass extended 1km further north, is currently on schedule to be built by 2011 (see link above). Work is also due to commence in 2008 on the Strabane to N14/N15 Lifford link road which will join the Strabane Bypass at a new roundabout about 500 metres south of the existing Lifford link road (see link above). A longer term plan (2011-2016) will see the A5 from Londondery to Victoria Bridge upgraded to 2+1 standard, which will likely involve upgrading the Strabane Bypass.

Map

Map of stage 1 (red) and stage 2 (blue) of the Strabane Bypass. [From Roads Service Web Site]

Photos

The completed Strabane Bypass.

[Photo from issue 2 of the Roads Service magazine "On the Move", December 2003]