Transport Minister Conor Murphy has officially opened the £146m A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley dual carriageway one month ahead of schedule with the First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

The 20.5 km A4/A5 corridor improvement scheme also includes the realignment of the A4 Annaghilla Road and the A5 Tullyvar Road completed earlier this year.

Opening the new carriageway Minister for Regional Development, Conor Murphy said: “The A4 dual carriageway is the longest ever section of new carriageway constructed in the North. This new 20.5 km stretch of dual carriageway, which has opened a month ahead of schedule, represents a significant investment in the infrastructure in the Dungannon area and the West.

“Since taking up office I have been committed to tackling the years of under investment in the west and to the delivery of balanced regional infrastructure throughout all of the north. The opening of this dual carriageway will be of significant benefit to both strategic traffic and motorists in the local area.

“The new A4 scheme combined with the recently upgraded Westlink means that you can now drive uninterrupted between Belfast and Ballygawley. The scheme will reduce journey times and improve road safety for those travelling east to west improving access between Belfast and both Enniskillen and Omagh. ”

The A4 dualling scheme, which included the construction of five flyover-type junctions and 17 new bridges, involved substantial earthworks with 2.4 million cubic metres of material excavated to make way for the new carriageway. Over two million man hours were successfully worked on the project, which employed approximately 500 people at the peak of the scheme.

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First Minister Peter Robinson said: “The Programme for Government recognises the importance of our road network in facilitating the efficient movement of people, goods and services and in growing a dynamic and innovative economy.

“The completion of this new dual carriageway also marks the completion of a major package of works which included the A1. These recent improvements at an overall capital cost in the order of £330million will benefit both the local and regional economy through improved journey times and enhanced safety and are an example of the Executive delivering tangible benefits for Northern Ireland.

“The challenge for the Executive is to build on the benefits of these substantial infrastructure improvements to secure the growth, the jobs and private sector investment that will drive our prosperity in the years ahead.”

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “Investments in road improvements, such as this key project, meet the Executive’s strategic objectives in terms of promoting economic growth and competitiveness and balanced regional development.

“The ability to now travel between Belfast and Ballygawley in the heart of Tyrone on uninterrupted motorway/dual carriageway with much reduced travel times together with significant safety improvements is now a wonderful reality for all those who use this route.

“This project is an example of implementing improvements today to meet tomorrows demands and is part of the ongoing strategy of improving the Strategic Road network in the north. These schemes are addressing the infrastructure deficit that we have suffered for many years, and importantly they are improving access both North to South and East to West.”

Minister Murphy thanked Roads Service, Amey Lagan Roads, Lagan Construction and Ferrovial Agroman Ltd for their work completing the scheme ahead of schedule and also the local community for their assistance during the development and construction of the scheme.

Environmental considerations have been an important aspect of this project. The Department, through its technical and environmental advisors, identified all significant environmental constraints within the road scheme corridor and designed the new road to the highest environmental standards in compliance with all statutory obligations and legal requirements. This included construction and relocation of a badger sett, habitat enhancement for a stretch of realigned Oona Water and extensive landscape planting along the length of the new roads.

This project was part funded by the European Union, TEN-T (Trans-European Network Transport) Programme.

The A4 Dualling completes the delivery of the three capital improvement schemes included in the Roads Service Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Package 2, the other two schemes being the A1 Beechill to Cloghogue Dualling, and the A1 Junction Improvements.

(GK/KMcA)