Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has awarded a £3.4m road widening contract to John McQuillan Contracts.
The improvement works to Mountjoy Road/Gortin Road, Omagh, are expected to take place from summer 2025 until summer 2026.
The project includes road widening – to allow for two lanes of traffic in each direction along the Mountjoy Road/ Gortin Road – and provision of shared use footway and cycleway.
There will also be upgrades to the existing Old Mountfield Road/Mountjoy Road Junction, with a new signalised crossing being added at the Strathroy Road/Gortin Road Junction, along with a second lane along Strathroy Road.
The scheme aims to address the anticipated increase in pedestrian, public transport and vehicle traffic due to the Strule Shared Education Campus (SSEC), which is estimated to bring over 4,000 school children and school staff to the campus and surrounding area.
When completed, the works should provide 'an important link to the campus from the north and west of the town', the DfI said. The work is intended to build on the Strathroy Link Road, which was completed in November 2019.
Infrastructure minister, Liz Kimmins, said: ‘The works will improve road safety for road users, pedestrians and cyclists in the area, including those who will be travelling to and from the Campus. This will involve improved accessibility and connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists, such as controlled crossing points, and provision of a grass verge/planting area at Grange Park to separate pedestrians and cyclists from the road.
‘The scheme will support and facilitate the use of more sustainable modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport and will also include a new footway on Gortin Road at Maryville Terrace where at present pedestrians walk on the carriageway of this busy road.’
Education minister Paul Givan said: ‘I welcome the award of this contract which is being funded by my department as it will contribute to the successful delivery of the Strule Shared Education Campus, a pioneering project which will be the largest education project ever delivered in Northern Ireland.’
The DfI stated that it will carefully programme the work operations and traffic management arrangements with John McQuillan Contracts to ‘minimise inconvenience’, but added that, while steps will be taken to accommodate local access for residents and local bus services, road users should ‘expect some delays’. It advises them to allow additional time when travelling in the vicinity of the works.
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