A proposed County Down-based bypass scheme will move forward to the business case and procurement stage, Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced.

The A24 Ballynahinch Bypass Scheme will provide a single carriageway bypass, approximately 3.1 kilometres in length around the eastern periphery of Ballynahinch.  

During a visit to the town, Minister Kimmins said: "I am delighted to announce this positive step forward for the long-awaited A24 Ballynahinch Bypass scheme. I know that for the local community, businesses and commuters through the area this will be a welcome development.  

"This important project will help to significantly alleviate traffic congestion in the centre of Ballynahinch, improving journey time reliability, road safety and air quality on the busy A24 Belfast to Newcastle Road. As part of my commitment to increase opportunities for active and sustainable travel I am also pleased that the scheme will include the provision of a new footway/cycleway and a park and share facility.  

-- Advertisement --

"This will all serve to enhance the town centre environment and provide a more positive experience for locals and visitors alike."

The Minister continued: "Major projects take years to develop and complete the necessary statutory orders, so we do need to prioritise the development and delivery of our schemes accordingly.

"On that basis and having already committed to take the A1 Junctions Phase 2 project to construction I can confirm that, in order to minimise the budget impact on future years, the Ballynahinch Bypass will be managed sequentially to the A1 Junctions project.

“When completed, these strategic road improvement schemes will deliver for communities and road users for generations to come."

The Department for Infrastructure will now commence the work to review and update the necessary documents to bring this scheme to procurement, including the finalising of the business case. 

This process is likely to take in the region of two years.  With a procurement start planned in 2027/28, works could commence in 2028/29 and take 2 years to complete.