The A5 is a major primary route 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 travels through County Londonderry

County Londonderry

The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

 and County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

, commencing in the city of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, passing the large towns of Strabane

Strabane

Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council....

 and Omagh

Omagh

Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...

 before it meets the N2 across the border 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,...

 towards the final destination of Dublin.

Route

The A5 starts at a crossroads in Derry where the Craigavon Bridge

Craigavon Bridge

The Craigavon Bridge is one of three bridges in Derry, Northern Ireland. It crosses the River Foyle further south than the Foyle Bridge and Peace Bridge. It is one of only a few double-decker road bridges in Europe. It was named after Lord Craigavon, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.The...

 meets the A2

A2 road (Northern Ireland)

The A2 is a major road in Northern Ireland, a large section of which is often called the Antrim Coast Road because it follows the scenic coastline of County Antrim....

. The A5 travels in a southerly direction skirting the River Foyle

River Foyle

The River Foyle is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. From here it flows to the City of Derry, where it...

 past Prehen and through the villages of New Buildings and across the border into Tyrone at Magheramason

Magheramason

Magheramason is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The village sits near the County Londonderry/County Tyrone border, 5 miles from the city of Derry and 9 miles from the town of Strabane. In the 2001 Census, it had a population of 393 people...

. A dangerous bend leads up to the village of Bready

Bready

Bready is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 93 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area.-Religion:Churches in Bready:...

 and the road then passes through Ballymagorry. It then by-passes the large town of Strabane, where it meets the A15 close to Lifford Bridge

Lifford Bridge

Lifford Bridge is a cross-border bridge on the N15 - A38 road, spanning the River Foyle which marks the border between Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and Lifford in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland....

, which crosses the Border to Lifford onto the N15 close to its meeting with the N14

After by-passing Strabane, the A5 traverses through the historical village of Sion Mills

Sion Mills

Sion Mills is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland on the River Mourne. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,050 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area...

 and passes over the village of Victoria Bridge

Victoria Bridge, County Tyrone

Victoria Bridge is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is mostly within the townland of Breen , which is in the civil parish of Ardstraw, the barony of Strabane Lower, and Strabane District Council. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 318 people.- Housing :Four homes were...

. It then by-passes Newtownstewart

Newtownstewart

Newtownstewart is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and is at the confluence of the rivers Strule and Owenkillew. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,479 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council...

 and continues on towards the county town of Omagh. On passing through the town, the A5 meets the A32 road, the main road between Omagh and Enniskillen

Enniskillen

Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

.

The A5 continues to one of the best-known roundabouts in Northern Ireland - the Ballygawley

Ballygawley

Ballygawley or Ballygawly is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is about southwest of Dungannon, near the meeting of the A5 Omagh–Monaghan and A4 Dungannon–Enniskillen roads....

 Roundabout, located outside the village of the same name. Here, it meets and multiplexes for a few hundred metres with the A4

A4 road (Northern Ireland)

The A4 is a major road in Northern Ireland. It travels through County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh and continues to Sligo in the Republic of Ireland as the N16....

 Belfast-Enniskillen route, before turning left towards the border village of Aughnacloy. On leaving Aughnacloy, the road crosses the border into County Monaghan

County Monaghan

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

 and becomes the N2 towards Dublin.

Recent developments

Despite being the major route from Dublin to the north west of the island, the A5 route does not contain any dual carriageway sections, and for many years the route brought drivers through a series of towns and villages which often provided cumbersome bottlenecks.

Since the 1980s, construction has taken place on two sections of bypass around the town of Strabane. The first section, constructed and opened in the early 1990s, relieved the outlying northern neighbourhoods and the town centre of traffic using the A5, and in 2003, an extension of the road diverted traffic through the Melmount area of Strabane. Both projects have seen traffic improvements in the town. A proposed third section is now "on hold" pending wider decisions on the future of the A5.

A further bottleneck was provided through the village of Newtownstewart. Previously, the A5 route had to navigate a narrow section before taking a sharp right at a T-junction with the B46 to Plumbridge

Plumbridge

Plumbridge is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is a crossroads village, standing on the banks of the Glenelly River. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 267 people. It lies within the Strabane District Council area....

. This was followed by a left turn a short distance later through the southern part of the village, before meeting a dangerous right-hand bend which carried a 25 mph speed limit. A bypass of the village, following the route of the former Derry-Portadown railway, was constructed and opened to traffic in 2003.

The 1990s also saw development on the A5 road to relieve traffic passing through Omagh, the county town of Tyrone. A bypass was constructed in three stages - the first, central, stage was completed in the mid 1990s and diverted the A5 route away from the town centre. A further relief road allowed traffic to avoid the increasingly built-up northern parts of the towns in the late 1990s, and in 2006, the final stage of the Omagh bypass was opened, taking traffic away from the many housing developments on the southern edge of the town and diverting traffic from a bridge over the Drumragh river, the site of a dangerous S-bend and accident black spot.

Planned developments

The Department of Regional Development has confirmed that part of the A5 route at Tullyvar, between Ballygawley and Aughnacloy, will be realigned, along with a similar project at Annaghilla on the A4 route nearby. Advanced site clearance works began in November 2007 with construction anticipated during 2008.

A series of other speculative schemes to improve the A5 have also been earmarked by the DRD:

• The completion of the Strabane by-pass project by a further realignment to the north of the town; construction may occur before 2011. Due to the larger scale upgrade now proposed (see next section) this scheme is officially on hold.
• A new link road and crossing of the River Finn across the border near Strabane to meet the planned N14/N15 Lifford by-pass; the legal procedures to confirm this scheme are currently being negotiated and construction should occur between 2008 and 2010.
• A planned upgrade of the A5 between Derry and Victoria Bridge converting the carriageway to 2+1 standard. This scheme is now unlikely to happen as the entire route is to be dualled.
• A further outer bypass of Omagh; construction timetabled for after 2015.

Dual-Carriageway Upgrade

In October 2006, senior Irish Government sources confirmed that the forthcoming National Development Plan for the years 2007 to 2013 would include plans to offer co-funding for a series of infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland. The funding was accepted and in November 2007 the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development announced that a route selection study had begun to upgrade the entire A5 route to dual-carriageway from the N2 at the Irish border near Aughnacloy, to Derry. This year it was decided that instead of upgrading the current road, a new dual carriageway would be constructed. The length of the new motorway will be 88 kilometres (54.7 mi). This would provide faster journey times from Derry and Northern Donegal to Dublin and beyond. It was suggested that if traveling on the new 88 km route then you could shave 20 minutes off traveling time. However, this may be very unlikely if traveling to Derry especially during rush hour traffic due to the road returning to single carriageway on the outskirts of the city, thus potentially forming a 'bottle neck' and causing congestion rather than relieving it. The cost of the project is currently estimated at approximately £850m up from the original estimate of £560m in 2007, of which will be partly funded by the Republic of Ireland. This will be both the longest and most expensive single road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland. Construction is estimated to be completed by 2017.
In June 2008, Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy announced plans for a feasibility study into creating an A6 - A5 Link Road around Derry City, This will more than likely also be of HQDC Standard. Please note though that this is not a commitment on behalf of his department.