Firms appointed for Belfast - Derry road upgrade

The A6 is the main Belfast to Derry road and is heavily used

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has appointed a consortium of firms to deliver the A6 dual carriageway scheme - one of the last Stormont executive's flagship projects.

Work on the road upgrade will cost £220m and is expected to begin in the next number of weeks.

The department said the appointment of the contractors Sacyr, Wills Bros and Somague is "a major milestone".

Upgrading the 25.5 km section of road will take up to four years to complete.

Strategic route

In a statement, the department said: "The A6 is a strategically important route as it connects the north west to Belfast and beyond.

"The existing road carries around 15,000 vehicles per day and with traffic levels continuing to grow, this very significant investment will greatly improve road safety and journey times by reducing congestion."

The project involves a bypass around Dungiven in County Londonderry.

Nine homes, 13 businesses and 760 acres of farmland are needed to make way for the road, affecting a total of 230 people.

The department said it has been working "very closely with all the property and landowners, and they are aware when they are to vacate".