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This scheme is part of the ambitious plan to upgrade the entire 88km A5 to high quality dual-carriageway standard from Newbuildings (just south of Derry) to Aughnacloy. See here for details and history. In February 2012, in a climate of reduced finance, it was decided to break the scheme into a number of phases and build them over a period of years. This scheme represents about 90% of what was originally "Section 3", ie the section from south of Omagh to Aughnacloy. It will follow the same design as "Section 3", except that it will omit the final 3.5km stretch from Ballygawley to Aughnacloy.

Junction Strip Map

	NORTH Begins as A5 Doogary Road, Omagh
Junction 13: Omagh (south)	B83 Seskinore Road		A5 Doogary Road into Omagh   B?? (Current A5)
	6.7 km / 4.2 miles
Junction 14: Seskinore	B46 Moylagh Road into Seskinore Augherpoint Road		B46 Moylagh Road
	14.6 km / 9.1 miles
Junction 15: Ballygawley	A4 Annaghilla Road towards Enniskillen		New link road into Ballygawley A4 dual-carriageway towards Belfast, (and link to existing A5?)
	SOUTH Terminates on existing A4 near Ballygawley

Updates

9 Oct 2024: This page has not been updated for over 8 years, but I am resurrecting it due to the announcement that this element of the scheme is to go ahead, commencing in early 2026, a year after the stretch immediately to the north which will run from south of Strabane to south of Omagh. The two stretches will be built by different contractors, but will both meet at a single point, at Doogary, just south of Omagh which is therefore no longer being planned to be a temporary terminus as we thought eight years ago. At the south end, this stretch will terminate at a new roundabout on the A4. If the planned future extension to Aughnacloy gets built, it will continue from that roundabout. Going forward to this page will be used to follow the actual construction of this stretch.

12 Apr 2016: This page exists specifically to follow the construction of the A5 from Omagh to Ballygawley. A separate and much fuller page is dedicated to following the entire A5 scheme through the planning and funding process. Obviously construction never began in September 2012 as anticipated in the previous update, due to the legal challenge that has been exhaustively dealt with over on the main A5 page, so this page has sat in stasis since then. However, an update is deserved due to the fact that the work has got to the point where we will probably see a new public inquiry in autumn 2016. Construction is currently anticipated to begin around 2019 and last two years, though this timescale is tentative as it depends on longer-term budgets that have not yet been decided. The DRD have also revised the cost of the South of Omagh to Ballygawley stretch to £225m, a rather substantial increase of 40% on the cost of £160m that was being quoted in 2012, and more than can be accounted for by inflation alone.

The DRD have now revealed an updated design for the stretch (go to this page, and clicking on the + sign beside "Brochures" at the bottom and click the Brochure for Section 3). It shows a number of minor changes over the 2012 design, but a much more significant change has been made to the design of Junction 15, where the upgraded A5 will meet the existing A4. Previously, the existing roundabout at the end of the A4 dual-carriageway was going to be removed and replaced with a bridge. Traffic wishing to get to Ballygawley would have to continue another mile along the A4 to a new roundabout west of Ballygawley where it met the upgraded A5, and then follow a new link road back to Ballygawley. This link road has now been deleted, and the new plans show the existing roundabout remaining in situ. The main reason is that the A5 south of here will not be upgraded in the near future (it's now on the long finger, named Phase 3), so that roundabout must remain for now to give access to the existing A5. The image below illustrates the differences between the 2012 and 2016 designs (click for slightly larger version):

Comparison of the DRD's plans for the Ballygawley junction between the A4 and ugpraded A4 in 2012 (top) and 2016.

The other point is that we now know how the temporary terminus south of Omagh will appear. Because this stretch of the new A5 will be built ahead of the planned bypass around Omagh, the new dual-carriageway will halt for now south of the town at Junction 13. I wondered if they would build a temporary at-grade roundabout as the terminus, but no, it seems that they are going to confidently build most of the grade-separated junction, including an unused stretch of dual-carriageway beneath. How this will look is shown in the map below (Omagh is to the top left, with the current A5 labelled "A5 Doogary Road"). As I commented on another page, I always get nervous when I see temporary terminii built in a way that assumes a future extension, since this has not turned out well in the past! So lets hope that doesn't happen this time!

31 Jul 2012: Today the scheme was approved by the DRD Minister, having passed the Public Inquiry. Work is now due to begin "in the Autumn", probably September or October, so we are probably within 3 months of commencement. It was confirmed today that at the south end of the scheme the existing roundabout connecting the end of the A4 dual-carriageway to the A5 will be retained, and not removed, as it has been decided to postpone the final stretch to Aughnacloy indefinitely. This is not surprising, as it was the cheapest, and most straightforward, solution to the problem of how to connect the A5 towards Aughnacloy to the new road. Thus 1.5km of the A4 will also be upgraded to dual-carriageway. However, there is still no information about how the north (Omagh) end of this scheme will end, ie what we call "Junction 13" in the strip map above. There was a lot of debate at the Public Inquiry about the precise route of the road at this point, but Roads Service have decided that the route they have selected is still be best option. This will hopefully be revealed in due course, as a decision must have either been taken already, or will have to be taken soon.

20 Feb 2012: This scheme came ino existence last Tuesday, following a major funding announcement. The Public Inquiry process is not yet concluded, but the Minister estimates that work could begin in September or October 2012 if it passes this hurdle. Construction is likely to take between 2 and 3 years. The total cost of £160m is an estimate, and may change as the scheme proceeds. It is somewhat surprising that this part of the A5 is to go ahead, given that this stretch is today one of the best sections of the A5. The Omagh Bypass section to the north would be more justifiable on traffic grounds as it represents a much more significant delay to motorists. The thinking may be that starting at either end of the A5 will ensure there is the political will to "fill in the gap" in years to come. I would also say that it is no surprise that the Ballygawley to Aughnacloy section is not being built now - on traffic grounds, it is hard to justify, particularly given the fact that there are no plans to upgrade the N2 on the Irish side of the border.