The proposal
The Armagh Area Plan 2004 includes proposals for single carriageway North Link and West Link roads around the City of Armagh linking from the A3 Portadown Road to the A3 Monaghan Road. These proposals were considered with three other options and an out-of-town corridor was confirmed as the preferred option on 26 June 2008.
Description
The A3 Armagh North and West Link scheme is included in the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015, published in March 2005. It is listed in the Preparation Pool which contains schemes expected to be implemented within the next 5 years subject to satisfactory completion of the necessary Statutory procedures and the level of funding available at that time. Roads Service (now DfI Roads) has appointed consultants to assist with the development and progression of the scheme. In March 2007 a Consultation Day was held which detailed the process for assessing the route corridor options that were brought forward to Stage 2 preferred corridor assessment and explained the work that would be carried out to assess their suitability.
Three corridors were assessed under engineering, environmental, and transport criteria to determine suitability.
The assessment criteria included:
- environmental impact
- safety
- economy
- integration
- accessibility
Current position
The Department on 14 August 2023 published a prioritised list of major road schemes that will continue to be progressed. There are a number of reasons why the prioritisation of projects, currently in the pipeline, was necessary, including the challenging budgetary position and constrained resources (in terms of finance and staff) and, importantly, the Department’s commitments under the Climate Change (NI) Act 2022.
Transport policies and plans are currently being reviewed and updated to align with these commitments and this work will help define what major transport infrastructure projects should be included within any future major roads programme.
The Department is currently drafting a new Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland (TSNI) . It will form an overarching framework which will shape the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services up to 2035.
Work is ongoing to complete the draft TSNI for public consultation. Once the draft TSNI has been published, the Department will be able to review all work to date on the draft Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan (RSTNTP) in the context of the TSNI and the carbon target for transport, which has not yet been set.
The publication of the prioritised list of major road schemes, that will continue to be progressed, explains that development work on the Armagh North and West Link is currently paused. A decision to recommence development work will be considered following confirmation of the RSTNTP.
Scheme documents
- A3 Armagh North and West Link - preferred corridor
- A3 Armagh North and West Link - Stage 1 Scheme assessment report
Key dates
- 13 March 2006 - Public information day
- 20 March 2007 - Public information day
- 26 June 2008 - Public information day - selection of preferred route corridor
- 11 June 2014 - Associated public information day with Armagh East Link
Cost
- £55 to £75M (estimate will be subject to review)
Updated February 2024