A26 Glarryford to A44 Drones Road Dualling
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Scheme Update
August 2008
On the 11 August 2008 the Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy MLA, announced the ‘preferred route’ for the A26 Dualling between Glarryford and the A44 Drones Road junction.
The preferred route has been confirmed as an on-line improvement of the existing single carriageway road to dual carriageway, previously named the 'Blue Route' (Option 3) at the public consultation event held in June 2007. You can download the preferred route leaflet by clicking here (707kb)
Scheme Background
The A26 is part of the Northern Key Transport Corridor that links Belfast to Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady and Londonderry.
The section of the A26 under consideration is one of several schemes that have been identified for the northern corridor in the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015 (RSTN TP) and is included in the Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) for Roads. Roads Service and their Consultant partner ‘Arup’ are working together to deliver the scheme.
The proposed scheme consists of the provision of 7km of dual carriageway between Glarryford and the A44 Drones Road (the Ballycastle Fork). This section is currently a single 2-way carriageway which carries 18,000 vehicles per day. The improvement is predominately online with the section adjacent to the frossess trees going marginally off line.
Scheme Proposals
To consider all available options a scheme assessment is being carried out. This is a three stage procedure, which compares various options based on the government’s five key transport objectives of environment, safety, economy, integration and accessibility. This begins with an examination of broadly defined routes, progressing through the selection of a ‘preferred route’ to detailed environmental assessment and design.
The following lists briefly the assessment process to-date:
- A Stage 1 ‘Preliminary Options’ assessment of twelve viable routes was carried out. This resulted in five routes (namely Orange, Blue, yellow, Green and Red) being taken forward to Stage 2. To download the Stage 1 assessment click here.
- A Stage 2 ‘Preferred Route’ assessment involved a more detailed assessment including surveys to identify the key effects and factors to be taken into account when selecting and comparing the five Route Options. This resulted in the blue (on-line improvement) Route Option progressing to Stage 3 as the ‘preferred route’. To download the Stage 2 Preferred Route Leaflet click here (707kb))
- A Stage 3 assessment is being carried out at present. This involves further design development of the preferred route. This stage of assessment requires preparation of an Environmental Statement, production of a Draft Direction Order and Draft Vesting Order (Statutory Procedures).
