6 July 2004
MINISTER OPENS £1.6 MILLION ROAD WIDENING AT SPRINGWELL
Minister of State, John Spellar, MP, today opened the Springwell climbing lane, on the A37, Coleraine to Limavady road.
The two mile scheme, which starts about four miles outside Coleraine, has been constructed on the east side of the Keady mountain and will provide overtaking opportunities for Limavady bound traffic.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Minister said: "The completion of this £1.6million major project is a further demonstration of the government’s continued infrastructure investment in the North West. The plans outlined in the Regional Transportation Strategy are being delivered on the ground.
"A substantial improvement has already been completed on the northern corridor, with the opening of the Limavady bypass last year. The new climbing lane will benefit road users, by reducing journey times on the route, and improving road safety."
The Minister continued: "This scheme is part of the implementation of Roads Service’s policy to improve overtaking opportunities, on single carriageway sections of the Province's regional strategic transport network. Where possible, 'mirror pairs' of these schemes are being provided to enhance overtaking opportunities in each direction."
Commenting on future infrastructure plans, the Minister said: "Roads Service has plans to construct the mirror of this scheme on the other side of the Keady mountain, at Gortcorbies, within the next few years."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- Roads Service designed and supervised the scheme. The contractor was, Limavady based, B Mullan & Sons Ltd.
- Overtaking lanes are provided by constructing localised sections of '2+1' carriageways, i.e. the widening of stretches of the single carriageway road to provide two lanes of traffic in one direction and one lane in the other.
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