NI Conservatives’ roads spokesman, Bill Manwaring, has urged regional development minister, Danny Kennedy, to scrap the A5 project and use the savings to fund other infrastructure projects.
“Enough time and money has been wasted on the A5 upgrade”, Bill noted. “It is opposed by many people who live close to the road, it has become mired in a judicial review and the eventual economic benefits are by no means clear. The High Court has also now indicated that the project could have grave consequences for Ireland’s salmon stocks, which are an important consideration environmentally and for tourism.”
“If there were any merit to begin with, in this Sinn Féin / DUP vanity project, it is now clearly far outweighed by the problems it raises. Northern Ireland needs money to be spent on infrastructure now, yet half the roads budget is tied up in this doomed venture.”
“Danny Kennedy should scrap the scheme immediately and look at how funds can be shifted into potentially far more beneficial projects. If it were used to upgrade the A6 between Belfast and Londonderry, to dual the deadly A26 from Glarryford to Ballycastle, or even if some of if it were diverted to DSD and used to construct more one and two bedroom social housing, it would serve Northern Ireland far better”.