Debate contribution: Road Infrastructure: Ballykelly and Kilrea

Debate contribution by Mr Philip McGuigan on 27 January 2026.

MLA

Mr Philip McGuigan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Road Infrastructure: Ballykelly and Kilrea

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5345614

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for securing the Adjournment debate. I was elected not in East Derry but in North Antrim. My constituency, however, ends on one side of Kilrea Bridge, so it is an issue that has had an impact on my constituents' daily lives, be that in going to their places of work, taking their children to school or engaging in their day-to-day business. I should declare an interest, as I use the road a lot to travel to see my father in Swatragh and to do other things across the bridge in Kilrea. I therefore understand the impact that the disruption has had. I cannot disagree with anything that Maurice Bradley said. The bridge was closed in September 2025 after the Department found structural issues. That caused an awful lot of disruption and a 20-to-25-mile diversion. I represent Portglenone. Having engaged with businesses there and seen it with my own eyes, I became aware of the added traffic disruption there. We all breathed a sigh of relief when, owing to the Department's efforts, the bridge was reopened temporarily to most vehicles, with the exception of heavy vehicles. That has reduced a good proportion of the disruption. As other Members have said, there is still a level of disruption, however. Businesses in Kilrea suffered over the Christmas period, when it definitely had an impact, and there was some disruption to school transport. A number of parents contacted my constituency office about that. Maurice Bradley clearly articulated the problem of trying to look after historical structures while making progress. The Kilrea Bridge was built in 1783, and nobody is questioning the fact that the volume of traffic has increased substantially since then. Given the increased volume of traffic, the local community is campaigning for a new bridge as a desired outcome. As well as the recent disruption, there was a lesser case of disruption not that long ago. The local community is concerned about an increase in the number of times that they will be disrupted. My council colleagues have raised a number of issues and worked cross-party to ensure that the potential for a new bridge in Kilrea is prioritised and added to the local development plan and the local transport plan. That is a good step, allowing the potential for a new bridge to be formally assessed and costed before being included in the council's local plans. I do not think that there are any sticking points that would prevent the Minister and the Department from taking it forward. I welcome the steps that are being taken. I agree with the other MLAs who have complimented the Department on keeping us up to date after the initial phase. I get weekly emails, and there is regular contact, so we are kept well up to date. We are told that the bridge is on track to be fully reopened in mid-February. Hopefully, the Minister will confirm that that is the case. The local campaign for progress towards having something more permanent down the line is something that I wholeheartedly support.

511 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:22 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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