Final section of Northern Irish dualling scheme complete

The final section of the A6 Randalstown to Castledawson dualling scheme in Northern Ireland has opened this week.

The £189M scheme to upgrade 14.7km of the A6 North Western Transport Corridor between Randalstown and Castledawson began in June 2017.

Split into two parts – 7.3km between Randalstown and Toome and 7.4km between Toome and Castledawson – the upgrade will improve safety and journey time reliability on the road between Belfast and the North West.

On Saturday and Sunday the final works to remove the remaining cones and temporary traffic management arrangements were completed, with the entire 14.7km of the road open on Monday.

Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon said it is “an exciting time” for all involved.

“In August 2019 and again in November 2020 stretches of the new dual carriageway were completed and gradually opened to the travelling public. This has already brought significant benefits for road users,” she said.

“The final completion of the scheme is therefore fantastic news for the 22,000 vehicles using the route each day.  Car users, freight and public transport services along this route will benefit from shorter, safer and more reliable journey times. Crucially this will also allow our emergency services to achieve faster response times when assisting our citizens in need.”

Mallon also emphasised the importance of collaboration and partnership.

She said: “The job of constructing such a major piece of Infrastructure is no mean feat and two of our largest contractors, Graham Construction and Farrans, have worked together in a Joint Venture along with our consultants AECOM, designers ARUP and Roughan & O’Donovan and many sub-contractors and suppliers to deliver this project.

“I am also very grateful for the input from public sector partners.  To all involved, you can be rightly proud of your contribution to this impressive new road.”

Graham Farrans JV board director Leo Martin said the project “will unlock a huge infrastructure route for the North West Transport Corridor”.

He added: “Since first breaking ground in summer 2017, we have overcome multiple engineering challenges and managed the project through strategic weekend closures to maximise safety and productivity throughout the project. This has been a huge scheme that has brought the scope and breadth of our civil engineering expertise into sharp focus.

“I would like to thank all stakeholders involved in the project for their tremendous efforts and to the public and businesses on the route for their patience and cooperation while we were improving this important highway.”

The 5km stretch between Toome and Castledawson opened in November, while the first phase between the M22 at Randalstown and Toome was completed in August 2019.

Although the project is now complete, it has had to overcome legal challenges arising from environmental issues.

A small area of construction includes fields used by whooper swans as overwintering habitat. As such, the scheme has been challenged in the courts by an environmentalist leading to an additional cost of £10.6M.

Source Final section of Northern Irish dualling scheme complete | New Civil Engineer

Department of Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering – International Burch University (ibu.edu.ba)