Debate contribution: Road Infrastructure: Ballykelly and Kilrea

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 27 January 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Road Infrastructure: Ballykelly and Kilrea

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5345630

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I thank Cara Hunter for initiating this important debate on roads infrastructure in East Derry, particularly in Ballykelly and Kilrea. I know that it is an important issue for all the representatives of those areas who have spoken in the debate and, indeed, for elected representatives on the council. I have received a significant volume of correspondence. I do not, for one second, underestimate the frustration and disruption that the roadworks have caused. I have listened intently to Members' contributions. I have heard loud and clear the concerns about road infrastructure in East Derry, particularly in Ballykelly and Kilrea. I want you all to be reassured, and your constituents to be reassured, that we have been taking that on board and doing the best that we can to try to address the challenges that have emerged. As Members will know, investing in new roads and improving and maintaining roads is critical to enabling us to ensure the safe movement of people and goods, allow the growth of our economy and connect our communities. I stress that, here in the North, we can have whatever quality of road that we want if we can get the right funding. Without that funding, roads will continue to deteriorate, pose a safety risk and impede economic movement. As is well rehearsed in the Chamber — I feel as though I have been here for every Adjournment debate in the past while to talk about this — the Budget that the Executive receive still falls well short of what is needed from London. We do not have the funding to do everything that we would like to do or, in fact, that we need to do. Therefore, prioritisation is required. In this case, it is positive investment. Once it is completed, the local area will really benefit from it. I completely understand the frustrations and inconvenience that it has caused. Members have articulated that extremely well in the debate. I really appreciate the tone of the debate, because I know how difficult it is and has been for the past number of months, particularly as people and communities rely so much on the road network to do business, go to work, get to and from school, get to healthcare appointments and connect with one another. The value of our infrastructure cannot be overstated. I will continue to work with my Executive colleagues to ensure that we get appropriate investment to continue with improvements such as that to enhance the quality of our road network. As Members will know, in June 2025, I launched the draft transport strategy for public consultation. Officials are analysing the responses. We will finalise the transport strategy for anticipated publication later this year. It sets out the long-term vision along with my strategic goals for the region, whilst the new suite of local transport plans that are also in development provides a more detailed and focused understanding of the measures that are proposed for specific plan locations. That is relevant because the Causeway Coast and Glens local transport plan covers Ballykelly and Kilrea, and it will provide the framework for local transport policy and investment decisions up to 2035. That plan is being developed in close alignment with the council's local development plan and, as such, is at an early stage. That coordinated approach ensures better integration between transport and land use planning, ensuring that new development is well connected, encourages investment and promotes sustainable and coordinated growth across the area. The plan will address key local transport issues, many of which have been highlighted in the debate, including local bus services, the road network and parking provision. In parallel, the regional strategic transport plan is being developed. That will set out proposals for the strategic road network for the next 10 years and include rail, interurban bus routes and park-and-ride sites. Both plans remain in development. Opportunities for public input will be available during the public consultation phase. All feedback on the proposals will be welcome at that time. That will provide an opportunity to comment specifically on any future proposals for Ballykelly and Kilrea. Recently, I announced progress that has been made on the six active travel signature schemes, including the Coleraine to Portstewart and Bellarena to Bishop's Gate schemes in the East Derry constituency. My officials are in regular contact with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council to support delivery of their greenway priorities. The active travel improvements on the A2 Clooney Road between Ballykelly and Greysteel are part of my commitment to enhance and expand our active travel network across the North. It was first listed by council back in 2021. Local engagement took place in 2021 and 2022 under the then Minister, Nichola Mallon.

On completion, the scheme will provide significantly enhanced cycling and pedestrian facilities between Ballykelly and Greysteel. It is part of my Department's long-term strategic plan for greenways, which will improve active travel facilities on the north coast for the benefit of the local community. It will also enhance the local tourism offering. Members will be aware that the scheme is nearing completion. Resurfacing works commenced on 19 January and are expected to take approximately two weeks, subject to weather conditions. Members will appreciate, particularly given the weather that we have experienced over the past 24 hours, that there are things that are beyond our control that can impact on end dates. It is anticipated that the scheme will be substantially complete by the end of February 2026, with no further phases planned on the section thereafter. It has to be said, however, that, with the delivery of a scheme of that nature and scale, it is inevitable that there will be traffic delays. I am not trying to underestimate or underplay the significance of those delays — there has been huge disruption — but the scheme is complex. Alan Robinson mentioned the Sydenham bypass, but we cannot compare the two schemes; they are not like for like. The Sydenham bypass work was a resurfacing scheme, while the scheme that we are talking about required a lot of additional work, such as road widening. Members asked about the ability to do the works off peak or through the night. The contractor has, where possible and to the best of its ability, done off-peak work, but I recognise that, as there are residents along the route, night-time working may not always be a viable option. My Department has worked closely with the contractor to try to keep it to a minimum, but I fully appreciate that delays on the road network can be frustrating. The examples that Members have given really highlight just how much the work has impacted on the local community and local businesses. I ask the public to continue to be patient and understanding, as best they can: they have been extremely patient to date, but I hope that we will see the completion of the work in the next few weeks. Members also asked about the time that it has taken to complete the scheme. I think that it has taken around 12 months. It started just before I came into post. There were some interruptions to the scheme because of the Open and the Foyle Cup. We took decisions to try to ensure that traffic kept moving during those major events. Likewise, there is a Christmas embargo period: roadworks are embargoed until the Christmas period ends. All those things have also had an impact on timelines, which I appreciate has prolonged the inconvenience for people who live in the area. Members highlighted the additional spend. The cost of the works has increased from £2·6 million to approximately £3·2 million, which is attributed mainly to the future-proofing of the works, including the provision of street light ducting, drainage improvements and additional works at Faughanvale Bridge. Some additional costs had to be incurred for the increased traffic management measures. Although those additional works were not included in the original scheme, it was efficient to progress them as part of the scheme in order to avoid further disruption at a later date. If the scope of a project changes, it is inevitable that costs increase. I would like to think, however, that Members would agree that, rather than adding further time to the scheme, it made sense to do that work at the same time as the existing work. As road safety continues to be a key priority, I am committed to ensuring that all road users can travel safely and with confidence. The road safety strategy to 2030 is important for refocusing minds and energy on creating safe roads, safe vehicles and safe people. The Department continues to deliver a programme of priority targeted road safety interventions through the local transport and safety measures programme, which helps to progress improvements across the road network. Requests for local safety measures and improvements to the network, including the provision of traffic signals and road improvement schemes, are assessed in line with my Department's current policies and guidance, and all works are subject to prioritisation and budget availability. The Kilrea Bridge is another key area of the work and has had a significant impact. As Members know, in the interests of public safety, officials took the decision to close the Kilrea Bridge on the Bann Road on 20 September last year, due to extensive cracking on a retaining wall at the south-west end of the bridge. Officials worked at pace to develop a solution —.

No. I am nearly finished. I will just finish that point. Officials worked at pace to develop a solution to stabilise the structure, and, following an accelerated procurement exercise, works commenced on-site on Monday 10 November. To mitigate the impact as best we could, temporary supports were put in place that allowed the bridge to open to cars and light vehicles on Saturday 6 December. I am pleased to confirm that work is progressing as planned, with the road on track to fully reopen to all traffic by mid February. However, as Members have mentioned, I am aware that the council recently passed a motion to request that a new bridge be considered as part of its local development plan. The framework for making new transport policy and investment decisions for the council area is the Causeway Coast and Glens local transport plan that I referred to earlier. In closing, I thank Cara Hunter for securing the Adjournment debate and all Members for their contributions. I cannot reiterate enough the value of our infrastructure and how important it is. Tonight's debate has really highlighted that. I also thank Maurice Bradley for his comments on the information and communication that has happened and the work of officials and staff on the ground. We are trying extremely hard to minimise the impact of the work, but we recognise that it has been disruptive and a big inconvenience for people. However, we hope that you can bear with us and that we see the completion of both in the coming weeks. Thank you very much.

1,857 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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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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