Status
|
Construction scheme
(current) |
Contractor
|
Sacyr, Wills Bros
and Somague consortium
|
Scheme
|
New
high-quality dual-carriageway to replace
the existing single-carriageway A6 from
Dungiven to Drumahoe, including
a bypass around the south side of
Dungiven (Phase 1) and then
from Drumahoe to the A2 at Gransha, and
an upgrade of the existing A2
dual-carriageway from Caw to Maydown
(Phase 2).
|
Total
Length
|
30.0 km / 18.8
miles
|
Dates
|
Mar 2005 - Pilot study
to select route from Castledawson to
Derry announced.
Dec 2005 - Funding
announced to build section from Dungiven
to Derry.
Feb 2007 -
Preliminary route corridor selected.
May 2008 - Five route
options published.
6 May 2009 -
Preferred route announced.
14 Dec 2011 - Draft
legal documents published.
Jan 2012 - Public exhibitions.
24 Sep 2012 to 2 Oct
2012 - Public Inquiry held.
ca End Mar 2013 -
Inspector submitted Public Inquiry
report.
24 Feb 2016 -
Departmental Statement published.
21 Feb 2017 -
Construction tender released.
15 Aug 2017 - Vesting
Order "made".
28 Mar 2018 - Contract awarded for
Dungiven to Drumahoe section (phase 1).
(changed from
"after 2015" as of Jan 2011, and
"early 2013" as of Jul 2010).
26 Sep 2018 -
Sod-cutting ceremony
Spring 2022 - Anticipated completion
|
Cost
|
£390-420m (as of Nov
2014) for whole scheme
(of which £220m for
phase 1, Dungiven to Drumahoe) as of Mar
2018
(Changed from
£230-255m for phase 1 as of Nov 2014;
£350-390m as of Mar 2011; £320-390m as
of Dec 2009; £320m as of Dec 2008 £300m
as of Jun 2008 and £250 million as of
2005)
|
Photos
|
See below. |
See
Also
|
General
area map.
Contractor's
web site on scheme
DFI
web site on scheme - very detailed
information and reports.
|
Click here to jump
straight down to updates for this scheme.
This major project
was first announced on 13 December 2005 by the
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain
as part of a larger investment package for the
city of Derry, and work got underway in 2018. It
will see a dual-carriageway bypass of Dungiven
town and dualling of the existing A6 from there
to the A2 on the north-eastern periphery of
Derry city. The road will be build to a high
quality with two lanes each way, no breaks in
the central barrier and fully grade separated
junctions (ie flyovers). Plans announced in 2004
for a single-carriageway bypass of Dungiven at a
cost of £11.1m were subsumed by this much larger
scheme, although the preliminary work done was
still useful. The map below shows the section of
the A6 affected by this upgrade:

Route
The
chosen route closely follows the existing A6,
but generally off to one side apart from an
onlien section around Burntollet. At the Derry
end it heads inland and bypasses Drumahoe well
to the north, terminating on the A2 at Caw. At
the eastern end it bypasses Dungiven to the
south.
Strip Junction Map
This is a strip map of the design that was
published in May 2009, and is still correct as
of the updated design published in February
2016. Note that the design may change between
this map and construction due to the evolution
of the design, and the public inquiry.
|
WEST
Begins on
A2 dual-carriageway, Derry
2+2 lanes
|
STRADREAGH
or GRANSHA
|
A2 Clooney
Road
(into Derry)
|
|
Local
access
A2
Clooney
Road
(to Limavady)
|
|
5.3 km
/ 3.3 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
LISMACAROL
ROUNDABOUT
(DRUMAHOE)
|
A??
Glenshane
Road
(existing A6)
(into Derry).
|
|
Tirbracken
Road
|
|
2.8 km / 1.7 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
TAMNAHERIN
ROAD
(THE CROSS)
|
Local
access
Local
access
|
|
Tamnaherin
Road
|
|
2.0 km
/ 1.2 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
ARDMORE
ROAD
(BURNTOLLET)
Westbound access
only.
|
Faughan
River
Ardmore Road
.
|
|
Burntollet
Bridge
.
|
|
2.5 km / 1.6 miles -
2+2 lanes
|
KILLALOO
(GULF ROAD)
|
B74 Glenshane
Road
(Claudy west)
|
|
Gulf Road |
|
2.5 km / 1.5 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
BARANAILT ROAD
(CLAUDY)
|
B69 Baranailt
Road (into
Claudy)
|
|
B69
Baranailt
Road (towards
Limavady)
|
|
13.0 km / 8.1 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
FEENY
ROAD
(DUNGIVEN WEST)
|
|
|
B74 Feeny
Road (into
Dungiven)
|
|
2.5 km
/ 1.6 miles - 2+2 lanes
|
MAGHERABUOY
ROUNDABOUT
(DUNGIVEN EAST)
|
|
|
B?
Glenshane
Road
(existing A6;
into
Dungiven)
Local
access
|
|
EAST
Terminates
as single-carriageway
A6 towards Belfast
1 lane each way
|
Updates
24 Mar 2021: The scheme is now into its
final year and we are starting to see the road
take on its final shape in an ever-increasing
number of locations. Some of the least-advanced
bridges are also progressing, with beam lifts
imminent at both Liberty Glen and Ardmore Road,
while the Owenbeg river crossing finally got its
beams in the past month too. Another milestone
was the transfer of traffic onto one carriageway
of the new road at Claudy, on 10 March, and the
commencement of works for the terminal
roundabout at Magherabuoy, on the eastern side
of Dungiven, on 22 March. The pictures below
detail the progress at various places and as
usual are arranged in order from west to east
(Derry to Dungiven) and are with grateful thanks
to Benbradagh, Alan Lynas, Paul McCloskey,
Esther Harper, Arthur Ming and Les Ross as
always to them for keeping us so well-informed.
The only places I haven't seen photos from
recently are Tamnaherin Road and Killaloo
grade-separated junctions, so sorry that they
are not represented.

Pic 1: Liberty Glen bridge seen looking east on
23 March, showing a lot of progress since
Febraury. The central piers are now being
connected together to form the base for the
installation of three spans of bridge beams.
[Arthur Ming]

Pic 2: View looking west (towards Derry) from
Liberty Glen bridge, showing that the section of
dual-carriageway ahead is very advanced indeed,
with drainage installed, a base course of
asphalt laid and planting completed. 23 Mar 2021
[Arthur Ming]

Pic 3: Several bridge beams have recently
arrived near to Liberty Glen bridge. These are
probably some of the beams that will be
installed at Liberty Glen in the coming weeks.
23 Mar 2021 [Arthur Ming]

Pic 4: View of Burntollet bridge on 7 March
2021, showing piling works taking place for the
abutments of the second half of the bridge here.
It's impossible to tell from this angle whether
the "old" 1950s Burntollet Bridge has been
demolished yet - does anyone know? [Alan Lynas]

Pic 5: View looking east towards Burntollet
Bridge from The Oaks side on 7 March 2021. The
old road (which ran roughly where the gravel is)
has now been completely removed, excavated
deeper down, and is now being rebuilt to form
the future eastbound carriageway. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 6: View west from the same location as
picutre 5, towards The Oaks accommodation
bridge, visible in the distance, on 7 Mar 2021.
The old A6 ran where the gravel is, and has been
completely removed. The new dual-carriageway is
being built where it was. All traffic is
currently using the temporry road that heads off
to the right. This bit will eventually be
removed, while the remainder (off frame to the
right) will become part of the new Ervey Road
link, which will run parallel to the A6 for a
distance. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 7: Aerial view of Claudy overbridge on 12
Mar 2021, a couple of days after traffic was
diverted onto it, using the future westbound
carriageway. The old A6, which is to the left of
the yellow van, had just been closed at this
point and is now being excavated to create the
cutting for the local Baranailt Road, which will
run beneath it to join the road visible at the
upper left. The yellow van is on the future
eastbound carriageway, which is not yet open.
The wide gap between the carriageways over this
bridge is to provide sufficient forward
sightlines for traffic heading west.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 8: Gortilea Road bridge seen from the air on
12 Mar 2021. This local road, which simply
passes over the new road, has been closed for
over a year. The overburden (basically, a large
pile of rock and earth) which sat to the right
of the bridge for several months (purpose being
to compress the soft ground more speedily) has
now been removed and the embankment for the road
itself at last seems to be underway. Work also
seems to be taking place on the road itself,
with a lot of earthwork evident over the past
month. [Benbradagh]

Pic 9: Ballyhanedin Road bridge, which is about
1 km east of Gortilea Road, is also an active
site, with the bridge deck partly in place and
the embankment on the right being built up too,
as seen on 12 Mar 2021. [Benbradagh]

Pic 10: View beneath Ballyhanedin Road bridge on
21 March 2021, showing three bridge beams and
completed shuttering between them to facilitate
construction of the deck above. The temporary
working platforms (falsework) on either side are
also visible. [Esther Harper]

Pic 11: An accommodation bridge (which exist to
preserve access to private property) just east
of Ballyhanedin Road with its bridge deck under
construction on 12 Mar 2021. Note the hollow
abutments, which will be filled in in due
course. The road itself here is more advanced,
with base courses of gravel in place.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 12: The new dual-carriageway is very
advanced here, at Altagarron Road on 12 Mar
2021. Both carriageways have (at least) base
courses of asphalt laid and drainage in place.
Still needed are the crash barriers, final
wearing courses of asphalt and signage.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 13: View west through the huge Ovil Hill
cutting on 12 Mar 2021. Again, surfacing has
recently been installed here. The number of
stretches of road that are close to completion
is increasing all the time. Huge numbers of
trees have been planted in the foreground.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 14: Killunaught Road bridge, not far from
Dernaflaw, got its bridge beams about six weeks
ago and work is now underway on the deck, though
the concrete for the deck has yet to be poured.
New accommodation lanes are being built along
the left side of the new road here, on top of
the banks. Once again, a lot of progress is
evident on the surface of the new road itself.
12 Mar 2021 [Benbradagh]

Pic 15: Closeup of the asphalt batching plant -
basically, a tarmac factory - near Derrychrier
Road on 12 Mar 2021. Though this noisy and
smelly facility will definitely not be missed by
local residents when it is gone, it is currently
doing a huge amount of work manufacturing
asphalt surfacing for the new road. Various
grades of stone can be seen stored beside it.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 16: The Owenbeg river bridge near Dernaflaw
finally got its bridge beams (all eight of them)
earlier in March. In this shot, the shuttering
between the beams is in place but work on the
deck itself has yet to take place. 12 Mar 2021
[Benbradagh]

Pic 17: Ground-level view of Owenbeg River
bridge on 21 March 2021, about ten days after
the previous shot, showing the falsework bolted
onto the sides of one beam to allow workers to
access it. This shot shows how little space
there is below this bridge compared to, say, the
River Roe bridge at Dungiven. [Esther Harper]

Pic 18: The site of Feeny Road junction looking
west on 12 Mar 2021. The bridge is completed but
the road has not yet been rebuilt over it. The
pink material is a waterproofing layer on the
bridge deck. The west-facing sliproad loop is
really taking shape at the bottom left.
Earthworks on the new road itself are also very
evident. At some point Feeny Road will be
realigned over the new bridge, and then the
temporary road will be removed to complete the
cutting. It was recently announced that a
park-and-ride facility is to be built at this
junction, though not as part of the current
contract. [Benbradagh]

Pic 19: The River Roe bridge, south of Dungiven,
as seen on 9 Mar 2021. This bridge still looks
to be some weeks away from a beam lift, which
will be quite a sight when it is underway given
the height of the bridge deck. One carriageway
of the future dual-carriagway is well advanced
ahead. Benbradagh recently shared an aerial
movie of this bridge, taken a few days
later than this picture. [Les Ross]

Pic 20: View looking west of Priory Lane bridge,
Dungiven, which is completed though not yet open
to the public. Earthworks still seem to be
outstanding on the left here. The new
dual-carriageway here is very advanced with
asphalt in place. It is likely that the crane
will need to come down this stretch to reach the
River Roe bridge (in the middle distance) when
the time comes for the beam lift. 12 Mar 2021.
[Benbradagh]

Pic 21: Work began here, on the current A6
Chapel Road at the eastern side of Dungiven, on
Monday this week, 22 March 2021. This is the
view the day before. This is the site of a
future roundabout which will be known as
Magherabuoy Roundabout, and marks the terminus
of the new dual-carriageway. The works are
schedueld to last about eight months, so we
should see work completed around the end of
November. [Paul McCloskey]
26 Feb 2021: There is now only a little
more than a year to go on this three-and-a-half
year scheme and progress continues well, and the
better weather of the approaching spring will
help this. The contractor posted an update on
their web site here
two weeks ago (though as I write this the site
is down for maintenance) which I won't reproduce
here, but I will note some significant points
before moving on to some photos:
- Work at Liberty Glen bridge, near the
Belfray Inn, is ongoing. The base for the
southern/eastern abutment is complete, with
work now focused on the northern/western
abutment.
- The Oaks accommodation bridge, which got its
bridge beams in December, has now had its
diaphragms completed (the structure that holds
the beams together) and work on the deck
itself is due to happen next.
- At Burntollet, it is now quite hard to see
the old 1950s bridge, but it appears to still
be in place. It will need demolished before
long. Meanwhile, work is underway on the
piling platforms that will eventually form the
abutments for the second half of the new
bridge.
- At the nearby Ardmore Road bridge, the
abutments are almost complete and the beams
will be lifted into place in March. Some of
these are already sitting on the site.
- At the Claudy junction, work on the new
bridge is almost complete. A6 traffic had been
due to be diverted onto the new bridge today,
but this has been deferred by at least a week
so that the contractor can complete some
outstanding work on the bridge. After this,
the existing A6 will be removed in order to
excavate the cutting needed to get the
northern part of Baranailt Road down under the
new bridge. There are a number of photos of
this junction below.
- At Gortilea Road, the contractor has
indicated that the embankment to carry
Gortilea Road on the south side will be
constructed soon. The bridge has sat completed
for some months now with nothing much
happening.
- Ballyhanedin Road overbridge also got its
bridge beams, in early January, a fact which I
missed at the time.
- At Killunaught Road overbridge, the beams
were placed about ten days ago and work is now
underway on the deck.
- At the Owenbeg River bridge, west of
Dungiven, the west abutment is being completed
and the beams will be placed in March. There
was an incident
this week when a beam on its way to the
A6 scheme, possibly for this bridge, was
struck by a motorist who appears to have tried
to drive under it as it negotiated Sprucefield
roundabout!
- Although both the Feeny Road and Magheramore
Road bridges near Dungiven are structurally
complete, a lot of work still has to be done
before they can be opened to traffic, namely
the construction of the footpaths over the
bridges and then the reconstruction of the
approach roads on either side and over the
bridges themselves. So we may not see this
happen for a few weeks yet. It was also
announced this week that a park-and-ride
facility is to be built for Dungiven at Feeny
Road, as a separate project from this one.
- At the River Roe bridge, south of Dungiven
(the least-advanced river bridge) the piling
work for the abutments has been completed, and
work on the eastern abutment is now to get
underway.
- At the terminus of the scheme in Dungiven,
work on Magherabuoy roundabout seems to have
gotten underway over the past month, though as
yet this has had no impact on traffic on the
existing A6.
- A new
aerial movie of the Dungiven Bypass
section was uploaded last week by Benbradagh.
It begins near Derrychrier Road (visible at
1:00) and thereafter moves east towards
Dungiven.
And now some images. As usual these are
arranged west to east.
Liberty Glen
bridge near the Belfray Inn looking east on 4
Feb 2021 with work focused on the northern
abutment. Workers can be seen constructing the
steel reinforcement in the foreground, which
will eventually be encased in concrete like the
one on the other side. [Arthur Ming]

The view west towards Burntollet Bridge (in the
distance) on 21 Feb 2021. Work is underway to
widen the existing A6 on the right, creating an
embankment below the trees. On the left work is
underway on a new accommodation laneway. [Alan
Lynas]

Large steel bridge beams that have appeared near
Gulf Road at the contractor's compound. These
are probably for the the second half of the new
Burntollet bridge, though I haven't confirmed
that. They're being stored here as there is
currently nowhere closer to store them. 21 Feb
2021 [Paul McCloskey]

At Claudy junction, this is the "new" Baranailt
Road looking north with Claudy behind the camera
and the new bridge ahead. This road is not yet
open to traffic, but the road to the right in
the foreground leads to the current Baranailt
Road. This road may come into use when the A6 is
diverted over the new bridge in early March. In
the distance you can see the west-facing
sliproads heading up the hill to the left from
the circular pipe segments. To the left of
camera, not really visible, work is underway on
a new park-and-ride facility. 21 Feb 2021.
[Martin Lynch]

Looking up what will be the westbound sliproads
to/from the A6 at Claudy on 21 Feb 2021. [Martin
Lynch]

View west across the Claudy bridge on 21 Feb
2021. This will eventually carry the entire
dual-carriageway, but from early March the
section visible here will come into use to carry
all A6 traffic on the future westbound
carriageway. [Martin Lynch]

View south from the Claudy bridge on 21 Feb
2021. This is the "new" Baranailt Road looking
towards Claudy, with the new park-and-ride
visible on the right middle distance. The road
hasn't been completed closer than shown here
because the underpass currently ends at an
earthen cliff – the existing A6 must be closed
before this can be excavated. In this shot you
can clearly see the layers of road construction
- gravel base course, asphalt binder course and
the asphalt wearing course on top. [Martin
Lynch]

Section of the new dual-carriageway near
Derrychrier Road on 21 Feb 2021 with the binder
course of asphalt laid, but otherwise not much
happening. The gap in the foreground is for the
future central barrier, while drainage channels
can be seen on either side. This shot shows how
wide the new road is. [Esther Harper]

Killunaught Road bridge with its six concrete
beams in place on 21 Feb 2021. [Esther Harper]

View of the central pillars of the Killunaught
Road bridge on 21 Feb 2021. Work is underway
here to build the diaphragm above the central
pillars, while formwork has been placed between
the beams to allow construction of the deck
above. [Esther Harper]

Work underway on the terminal roundabout of the
scheme at Magherabuoy, Dungiven on 21 Feb 2021
[Paul McCloskey]
1 Feb 2021: There are quite a few photos
in this update, and one aerial movie, with
thanks to Arthur Ming, Sean Wilson, Esther
Harper and Benbragagh. Firstly, I'll link to a great
movie of the Dungiven Bypass portion of
the scheme by Benbradagh, dating to 16 January.
I've written a brief commentary below. The times
refer to minutes and seconds in the video. After
that, there are a series of photos.
- 0:00 Starting at the site of the future
Magherabuoy roundabout, on the east side of
Dungiven and then heading west.
- 0:19 Priory Lane bridge, with the approach
roads on either side now under construction.
- 0:30 Completed flood attenuation pond
visible on the right.
- 0:40 River Roe bridge still under
construction - with the abutments and pillars
for the three spans well advanced.
- 1:20 Magheramore Road bridge, still not
open, with the Owenrigh river bridge
immediately beyond. From here there is a long
stretch with blacktop laid and drainage
channels (visible in light grey) in place.
- 2:22 Feeny Road grade-separated junction
taking shape, with the bridge completed and
the loop for the westbound on/offslip visible
on the left. No work has yet taken place on
the eastbound on/offslip (upper right corner)
as the temporary route of Feeny Road currently
blocks the site, which seems to be in use
right now as a spoil heap.
- 2:36 Kink in kerb line on right reveals the
site of the future eastbound offslip.
- 3:05 Site of the Owenbeg river bridge, the
least-advanced structure on the Dungiven
Bypass. Some initial work has taken place on
the abutments, but the temporary bailey bridge
is still in place and little else evident.
- 3:25 Further area of subsurface now in place
with another permanent flood attenuation pond
on the left.
- 4:15 Crossing Derrychrier Road, with the
underpass completed and in use. Long
agricultural accommodation laneway to the left
of the new road.
- 4:35 Site of future westbound layby, just
apparent in the shape of the road base. The
large batching plant on the right is a
temporary structure that is making tarmac,
though the noise and smell is apparently
causing quite a nuisance to local residents.
- 5:15 On this stretch significant earthworks
still seem to be underway. Also evident are
hundreds of newly-planted trees on either side
of the new road.
- 5:35 Killunaught Road bridge under
construction, with the central pillars in
place and work on the abutments underway.
- 5:48 Camera stops, and returns to Dungiven
along the same route.
The following photos are, as
usual, arranged in order from west to east
starting at the Derry end. There is a particular
focus this time on the complex works taking
place around Burntollet.

Pic 1: View west from McCay's accommodation
bridge at Drumahoe, about 1km east of the
scheme's starting point at the new Lismacarol
Roundabout, Drumahoe. The gravel foundations of
the two carriageways are in place here, while
the cutting ahead has just been excavated
following the closure of a laneway that has now
been re-routed across this accommodation bridge.
30 Jan 2021 [Sean Wilson]

Pic 2: View east from McCay's accommodation
bridge on 30 Jan 2021, with the site of Liberty
Glen bridge - the longest bridge on the scheme -
visible as the dip beyond the orange machinery
in the distance. Again, both carriageways here
are having their gravel foundations laid and
graded. There has also been a lot of work
planting hundreds of trees on the banks. In ten
years' time passing through this cutting will be
like driving through woodland. [Sean Wilson]

Pic 3: View of the work underway on Liberty Glen
bridge, near the Belfray Inn, on 30 Jan 2021.
The eastern abutment appears close to
completion, as are the two sets of intermediate
piers. The western abutment is less advanced.
We're still a bit away from being ready for a
beam lift here I think. In the upper left is the
same cutting seen in pic 2. [Arthur Ming]

Pic 4: View of The Oaks accommodation bridge,
near Burntollet, in the snow on 23 Jan 2021. In
my update on 8 December I said that the beams
had been lifted on Ardmore Road bridge. This was
incorrect, it was actually this bridge that had
its beams added, apologies. Believe it or not,
the site in the foreground was the existing A6
until traffic was diverted onto a temporary road
just a matter of weeks ago. [Sean Wilson]

Pic 5: View of the site of Ardmore Road bridge,
taken from the existing stone Oaks Bridge (which
will remain in situ) on 29 Jan 2021. Work on
both abutments is progressing well and should be
ready for a beam lift before too long. This
bridge is at a high skew (around 60°) over the
River Faughan and is required due to the need to
reconstruct both the vertical and horizontal
alignment of Ardmore Road. [Sean Wilson]

Pic 6: Close-up of the northern abutment of the
Ardmore Road bridge on 29 Jan 2021. The existing
A6 can be seen beyond. [Sean Wilson]

Pic 7: View of the southern abutment of Ardmore
Road bridge (left) and the existing stone Oaks
bridge, as seen from near the northern abutment
on 30 Jan 2021. The green fabric protects the
River Faughan from runoff from the site. [Arthur
Ming]

Pic 8: The first beams for the Ardmore Road
bridge arriving on site on 20 Jan 2021. They are
located close to the existing stone bridge.
[Sean Wilson]

Pic 9: Three steel bridge beams for the Ardmore
Road bridge being stored at the site on 30 Jan
2021. They appear to have a slight curvature to
them. [Arthur Ming]

Pic 10: Telephoto shot of Burntollet Bridge as
seen from near Ardmore Road on 29 Jan 2021. The
higher structure, with the red-and-white
barriers, is the northern half of the "new" A6
bridge, now carrying all traffic. The smaller
bridge to the left is the 1950s A6 bridge, now
closed to traffic, and soon to be demolished.
The two cars on the right are parked at the
former junction of the A6 and Ardmore Road. The
entire area visible on the left between Ardmore
Road bridge and Burntollet bridge has been
cleared as a large construction site. When it
comes time to install the beams for the southern
half of the new bridge, probably in mid 2021,
the massive crane will likely be sited roughly
where the orange roller is parked. Eventually
the area will be built up onto an embankment to
allow Ardmore Road to be reconstructed to meet
the new A6 at the same level as the new bridge.
A lot still to happen here. [Sean Wilson]

Pic 11: Moving close to Dungiven now, this is
the site of the future Owenbeg river bridge seen
looking east on 17 Jan 2021, with Feeny Road
overbridge visible in the distance. A lot of the
work here is still at the earthwork stage, but
you can now see vertical steel reinforcement
bars on the eastern bank of the river, showing
that work on the abutments has now commenced. A
brown bailey bridge, giving access over the
river for site works, can be seen here too.
[Esther Harper]

Pic 12: Same location as previous, but looking
west, this shows the base course of tarmac in
place here on 17 Jan 2021. The telephoto makes
the road appear more undulating than it really
is. The white towers in the distance are part of
the batching plant that makes the tarmac.
[Esther Harper]

Pic 13: Finally, this shot taken on Sunday 31
Jan shows some people taking advantage of the
quiet weekend site to race quad bikes on the
future dual-carriageway. I would not recommend
using a construction site in this way, as there
can be many hidden dangers. The bridge pier and
abutment visible here are for Killunaught Road
overbridge, between Foreglen and Dernaflaw.
[Esther Harper]
22 Dec 2020: This is a brief update to
report on the significant change at Burntollet,
where traffic was switched onto the northern
half of the new bridge overnight on 18/19
December. Traffic was also switched onto the
future eastbound carriageway from Burntollet all
the way to the future Killaloo junction, a
distance of about 2.5 km. This marks a
significant milestone in this confined part of
the scheme. The next step, as summarised in Pic
1 below, will be to demolish the existing 20th
century (1950s) bridge and then build the
southern half of the new bridge. There are two
photos below showing the new layout, taken by
Alan Lynas. But before we come to the photos, I
need to share links to some superb third party
material:
- Superb
drone footage taken by Sky Photography,
showing the route from Liberty Glen (near the
Belfray) to Burntollet, a few days before the
switch-over happened.
- A series of lovely
aerial photos by Aerial Vision NI of the
stretch of the A6 from Dungiven to Foreglen.
- Footage
taken from a car by Diarmaid
Macfheargail showing Burntollet. The first
part of the video is taken travelling towards
Derry before the switch-over. The second part
of the video is taken travelling towards
Belfast after the switch-over and crossing the
new bridge, and then travelling about 5 km
further east past Killaloo to near Claudy! The
smooth vertical alignment of the new
Burntollet Bridge means it's easy to miss it
in the movie! With thanks to Paul McCloskey
for flagging this video.

Pic 1: The stages of work at Burntollet Bridge.
We have just completed stage (3). The next
phase, which I would expect to see in January
2021, will be stage (4), the demolition of the
1950s bridge.

Pic 2: View of the first half of Burntollet
Bridge open and in use on 20 December 2020. This
was very fast work, given that the approach
embankments were barely started six weeks ago.
Well done to the contractor. [Alan Lynas]

Pic 3: Same location as pic 2, but looking
towards Derry. All traffic is using the future
eastbound carriageway. The old A6 ran where the
digger is, and hugging the trees beyond. This
line has now been excavated and dropped down in
height by a couple of metres in order to give a
better vertical alignment for the future
westbound carriageway. [Alan Lynas]
Older updates can be found in the archive.
Background to Scheme
The Regional Strategic Transport Plan,
published in 2004, explained why it was thought
that further dualling of the 40km of the A6
beyond Castledawson could not go ahead before
2015:
B3.3.41 When the funding envisaged by RTS
is extended to 2015, there would be £529.4m
available for Strategic Road Improvements in
the RSTN TP period. However, this is fully
taken up by the high priority SRIs proposed
across the RSTN, including the £171.9m
envisaged for SRI schemes on routes serving
the North-West. Therefore, within the
funding assumptions of this Plan, it would
not be realistic to expect that further
dualling of the A6 could be undertaken
within the Plan period (apart from the
Randalstown to Castledawson section already
proposed). B3.3.42 However, further dualling
of the A6 will be required outside the RSTN
Plan period, in order to develop and upgrade
the link between Northern Ireland’s two
largest cities by 2025. Therefore, during
the Plan period it will be necessary to plan
the route of a dual carriageway between
Castledawson and Derry, by undertaking a
route selection study. This will inform the
decision regarding the acquisition of land
and route protection lines, e.g. for the
Dungiven Bypass.
This lack of funding
was rectified suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly
in December 2005 by the announcement of
sufficient funding for the Dungiven to Derry
section. Prophetically, the RSTN did comment
that "It is... likely that future dualling
in the 2015 to 2025 period will commence at
the Londonderry end of the route." This
is because traffic levels are highest at the
Toome and Derry ends of the A6, and lowest at
the Glenshane Pass and because of the difficult
terrain crossing the Sperrins. Traffic figures
collected in 2004 showed the following daily
traffic at various points on the A6:
- Toome - 21160 vehicles
- Castledawson - 14880 vehicles
- Ranaghan (Glenshane Pass) - 10470 vehicles
- Western edge of Dungiven - 13820 vehicles
- Altnagelvin, Londonderry - 12930 vehicles
- Rossdowney, Londonderry - 26930 vehicles
Thanks to Diarmaid Elder for the traffic
information on this page.
Photos

A typical view of the A6
road in its current form, here seen near
Dungiven. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]
Dungiven town centre is
the biggest bottleneck on the route, and will
get a bypass. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]
Lots more photos of
the road are available on the Roads Service web
site - see link at the top of this page.
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