No more detours : It's time to build the new A5 - RHA
Road Haulage Association (RHA) calls for ‘clear timetable’ for construction on A5 project.
THE RHA (Road Haulage Association) is urging the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) to start work on the A5 without further delay, after a court ruling cleared the way for Northern Ireland's largest road project.
The Court of Appeal in Belfast overturned a June 2025 decision that had halted the £1.7bn scheme to modernise and upgrade 85km of the A5 between Newbuildings and Aughnacloy to dual carriageway.
RHA policy lead, James Barwise, said: "This is the right decision, and it's long overdue.
“People living in Tyrone and the North West, local firms and the lorry and coach drivers who use the A5 every day have waited many years for a safer, more efficient road.
"New roads save lives, boost business and better connect communities.
“A modern, safe and fit for purpose road network is an economic necessity - and in Northern Ireland, where all freight moves by road, our members depend on roads like the A5 to keep shops, farms and factories supplied.
"Now we need spades in the ground on this key transport corridor.
“We'd like to see a clear timetable for construction, with safe parking and roadside rest facilities for drivers designed in from the start.
“We stand ready to work with the Department for Infrastructure to make it happen."
The RHA has long campaigned for roadbuilding and sustained investment in the road network.
The association wants planning on key road projects sped up across the UK, so that schemes like the new A5 are not left waiting the best part of 20 years to be built.