A6 Derry-Dungiven road likely to go £30m over budget

The first phase of the project, between Randalstown and Toomebridge, opened in 2019

The A6 between Londonderry and Dungiven is likely to exceed its original £220m budget by £30m, a Department for Infrastructure (DfI) official has said.

Work on the road started in 2018 and was due to be completed in the Autumn but has been beset by delays.

The DfI's Kaine Lynch told BBC Radio Foyle he now estimates the project to run £30m over their initial budget.

Earlier on Wednesday, he said work on the road will likely be finished "by the end of April".

Mr Lynch said that estimated date is "subject to any unforeseen circumstances".

The 15-mile (24km) stretch is part of the A6 road that links Derry and Belfast. It was due to open last Autumn but there has been concerns over continued delays to the scheme.

The new stretch of road mostly runs parallel to the existing road and includes of a bypass of Dungiven.

The delays have been blamed for causing traffic congestion and pollution concerns

"When we originally started the project we estimated it would cost around £220m, we know that it is likely to be in the region of £250m today," Mr Lynch told BBC Radio Foyle's News at One.

"But there are a number of outstanding disputes and unagreed items with the contractor which would need to be resolved before we could get a final figure.

"In a construction project of this nature there is inevitably things that will arise that the contractor would not have reasonably foreseen or accounted for in the price.

"There are a large a number of minor issues that are yet to be resolved, but that is normal on a project of this scale so my best estimate is now around £30m extra."

'Largely complete'

The road opened with speed limits and lane restrictions for a short period in summer 2022, but then later closed again as work continued.

Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Ulster on Wednesday morning, Mr Lynch said he understood the concerns of "local people and the travelling public" about delays to the project.

"They have waited a long time for the upgrade and understandably want to know when it will open," he said.

He said "the end of April" was the target the DfI was now working towards to open the road to the public.