The A29 is a major road in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

; it is mostly a single carriageway and goes through a number of main towns and connects in several places to other major roads.

Route

The road begins in the town of Portrush

Portrush

Portrush is a small seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the County Londonderry border. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest....

, heading south for a few miles before becoming the ring road

Ring road

A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...

 around Coleraine

Coleraine

Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...

. The road includes a short section of dual carriageway between Lodge Road Roundabout and Greenmount as part part of the shared route with the A37 (north) where it runs west towards Limavady

Limavady

Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...

. At a roundabout built in 2005, just outside Macosquin

Macosquin

Macosquin is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is south-west of Coleraine, on the road to Limavady. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 596 people...

, the A37 continues west while the A29 heads south towards Garvagh

Garvagh

Garvagh is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the banks of the Agivey River, south of Coleraine on the A29 route. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,288.-History:...

.

After Garvagh, the road goes through Swatragh

Swatragh

Swatragh is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Swatragh is on the main A29 road north of Maghera. The population was 435 in the 2001 Census....

, Maghera, Tobermore

Tobermore

Tobermore is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located two and a half miles south of Maghera and five miles west of Magherafelt. Tobermore lies within the civil parish of Kilcronaghan and is part of Magherafelt District Council...

, Desertmartin

Desertmartin

Desertmartin is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is four miles from Magherafelt, at the foot of Slieve Gallion. In the 2001 Census Desertmartin greater area had a population of 1,276. It had a population of 2257 in 1837 and 3101 in 1910. It lies within Desertmartin...

 and Moneymore

Moneymore

Moneymore is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,369 in the 2001 Census.It is an example of a Plantation village in Mid-Ulster. It was the first town in Ulster to have piped water.-Geography:...

. It then becomes Dual Carriageway as far as Cookstown

Cookstown, County Tyrone

Cookstown is a town and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of nearly 11,000 people in the 2001 Census. It is one of the main towns in the area known as Mid-Ulster. It was founded around 1620 when the townlands in the area...

, goes through Cookstown and onto Dungannon

Dungannon

Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

 as single-carriageway the rest of its journey via Armagh

Armagh

Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

, Keady

Keady

Keady is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated south of Armagh city and very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. The town had a population of 2,960 people in the 2001 Census....

, Newtownhamilton

Newtownhamilton

Newtownhamilton is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Tullyvallan and the barony of Upper Fews. It is part of the Newry and Mourne District Council area...

 and Drumbilla, County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

 in the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 where it joins the R177.

Tourist attractions

There are a number of tourist attractions on or close to the A29. These include:

• Portrush, and the nearby Giant's Causeway
  Giant's Causeway
  The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills...
  
  

• Coleraine

• The North West 200
  North West 200
  The North West 200 is a motorcycle race meeting held each May in Northern Ireland. The course, made up of public roads running between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush is one of the fastest in the world, with speeds in excess of . It is one of around fifteen events run on public...
  
   motorcycle races near Coleraine which incorporate part of the A29 into the circuit (Portrush to Coleraine section)

• Garvagh Museum

• The Linen Green, Dungannon

• Armagh Planetarium
  Armagh Planetarium
  Armagh Planetarium is a planetarium located in Armagh, Northern Ireland close to the city centre and neighbouring Armagh Observatory in approximately fourteen acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark.- History :...
  
  

Road Quality

A number of improvements have been undertaken in recent years, including a roundabout at the meeting with the A37 (north), outside Macosquin to reduce delays and smoothing of hidden dips between Maghera and Moneymore. On other parts of the Maghera-Moneymore route the surface is heavily worn and uneven.

While Cat's Eye

Cat's eye (road)

The cat's eye is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is today used all over the world....

's are present to aid night-driving they are often difficult to see and markings at the side of the road, when in 'open country' are of poor quality.

Cookstown is a notorious location for traffic congestion

Traffic congestion

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...

 and, during the day, contributes to lengthy delays.

Between Dungannon and Cookstown the village of Carland is an infamous bad bend: a sharp right-hand turn over a bridge that cannot easily accommodate passing vehicles and is usually taken at 5 mph. Work on a 1.2 miles (1.9 km) bypass of this bottleneck

Bottleneck

A bottleneck is a phenomenon where the performance or capacity of an entire system is limited by a single or limited number of components or resources. The term bottleneck is taken from the 'assets are water' metaphor. As water is poured out of a bottle, the rate of outflow is limited by the width...

began in August 2009 and is due to be completed in November 2010. On entering Dungannon, the Thomas Street/Hospital Roundabout is a further source of delay at peak times. While local people have suggested a bypass from the M1/A29 roundabout at Stangmore, east of Dungannon to rejoin the existing A29 after Carland (north of Dungannon), there are no plans to build such a road.