Transport Minister Danny Kennedy has commended staff and contractors for the successful completion of road schemes in 2013/2014 which accounted for £9.2 million investment in the roads infrastructure in the Omagh area

Minister Kennedy said: "My Department has invested over £135million in structural maintenance, improving many miles of road infrastructure across Northern Ireland in the last financial year.

"In particular in the Omagh area, despite ever increasing demands on budgets, DRD invested over £9.2million in delivering a comprehensive range of road schemes and maintenance work.

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"DRD is using its available resources highly effectively and continues to deliver quality public services in Omagh and across Northern Ireland."

Referring to the A5 Western Transport Corridor the Minister stated: "Following on from the successful legal challenge resulting, in April 2013, with the quashing of the Statutory Orders necessary for the scheme to proceed, four reports have been developed to assess any impacts on all designated environmentally sensitive sites (nine in total) in the vicinity of the scheme and where appropriate, mitigation measures are proposed.

"A public consultation exercise on three of these reports started on 30 April 2014 and conclude on 13 June 2014. he fourth report, on the Tully Bog Special Area of Conservation, is potentially affected by air quality and required further updated traffic survey information before completion. It is expected this fourth report will be published for public consultation in September 2014."

(CD/MH)