Stormont Roads Minister Conor Murphy has visited the site of the £6m A26 Ballee Road East to Ballymena bypass scheme.

During a tour of the site, the Minister met with officials from both Roads Service and the contractor FP McCann Ltd to discuss progress to date.

Mr Murphy said: "The construction of the new dual carriageway underneath the Larne Road Roundabout will allow strategic north south traffic to continue uninterrupted beneath the roundabout.

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"Traffic disruption will be negligible during most of the contract as the bulk of the works are being carried out offline through a greenfield site.

"Some traffic disruption can be expected in the latter stages of the contract when the new road is being connected to the Ballee Road East and to the M2 Ballymena Bypass."

The major improvement scheme started in early June 2009 and will take 10 months to complete.

Works are expected to improve safety; assist economic growth by reducing journey times; reduce congestion and delays and accommodate increasing traffic flows.

(PR/BMcC)