WORK on the proposed new A5 road can now proceed after the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier decision to stop the work from starting.
A new A5 dual carriageway from Newbuildings near Derry to Ballygawley was first proposed in 2007 but the project has been delayed due to a number of legal challenges.
Those opposed to the road plan argued it would involve too much loss of land and disruption for people in the area. They said that improvements should instead be carried out on the current A5 road.
However, the Court of Appeal today overturned a decision to prevent the work from beginning.
Speaking following the judgment, A5 Enough Is Enough Chair Niall McKenna, who has at the forefront of the campaign to have the new road built, said: “Today is an important day, but this campaign has never been about winning court cases. It has always been about saving lives.
“For almost two decades, communities along the A5 have waited for this road to be made safer.
“During that time, almost 60 families have suffered unimaginable loss and countless others have had their lives changed forever.
“They are the reason Enough Is Enough exists and they are the people we are thinking about today.
“We respect the judicial process and the careful consideration which the Court has given to the complex issues involved. Today’s judgment now provides the opportunity to move forward.”
‘Quickly’
Mr McKenna said there should be no further and construction of the new road should get underway ‘as quickly and safely as possible’.
“We acknowledge the commitment shown by the Infrastructure Minister, the Department for Infrastructure, the wider Executive, the Irish Government and the many political representatives and organisations who have continued to support the delivery of the A5.
“Now that commitment must translate into diggers on the ground and a new road being built.
“The A5 is not an abstract infrastructure project to the people who live here.
“It is the road our children travel to school on, the road people take to work, the road our sports teams travel every weekend and the road families use every day.
“For too many families, it is also the place where a loved one never came home from.
“That is why today cannot simply mark the end of another chapter in the legal process. It must mark the beginning of the final chapter in delivering this road.
“Enough reports. Enough consultations. Enough legal uncertainty. Enough delay. It is time to build the A5.”