More than 180 businesses in the North West have signed an open letter calling for urgent progress to the delayed A5 road upgrade.
A total of £90million has already been spent on the project without any construction having started, while total estimated costs have ballooned to more than £1.6billion.
Attempts by the Department for Infrastructure to progress the scheme, which would upgrade the entire section of the road from Newbuildings to Aughnacloy to dual carriageway, have been thwarted by a succession of legal challenges.
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However, with 40 lives lost on the road since it was first passed by the Executive in 2007, there have been increasing calls locally for the scheme to proceed.
The open letter has been penned by businesses across Derry, Donegal, Strabane, Omagh and the wider North West and calls for progress on the ‘crucial’ infrastructure project.
The letter has been submitted to the Department for Infrastructure by the Chief Executives of the Derry and Letterkenny chambers of commerce, Anna Doherty and Toni Forrester.
“The A5 is a crucial road network for the North West, connecting our region as far up as Donegal with Belfast, Dublin, and the rest of the island of Ireland,” a joint statement from the business leaders said.
“These upgrades were initially announced over 15 years ago so it is well beyond time that they get underway and are implemented as quickly as possible.
“After multiple appeals, delays, and public inquiries, the people of West Tyrone and the wider North West deserve a road network which is up to date and up to modern road safety standards.
“Tragically, this road has been incredibly dangerous over the past three decades, with over 70 deaths since 1998 on the A5.
“While these upgrades will be crucial for our economic fortunes and will go some way to help address long-standing, historic regional imbalances, it will more fundamentally seek to address serious safety concerns and prevent further loss of life in communities which have been so tragically and so deeply impacted by these deaths in recent years.”
A third public inquiry on the road scheme was due to recommence in January, but was delayed due to the need for further public consultation
The latest letter from local businesses follows on from the creation of a campaign group by Tyrone GAA to push for progress on the project.
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