A3 Portadown to Richhill dualling scheme - overview

The proposal

The proposal is to upgrade the busiest stretch of this interurban route, from the western outskirts of Portadown to Stonebridge, Richhill, by providing approximately 6.5km of standard dual carriageway.

Objectives

To improve journey times, journey time reliability and safety on the A3 Portadown-Armagh Road.

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 future 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 A3 Portadown to Richill dualling scheme is not currently being progressed. A decision to proceed to scheme development will be considered following confirmation of the RSTNTP.

Updated: 21 February 2024