A1 junctions dangerous for farmers and other traffic

I lived alongside the A1 until 1978 and witnessed the first upgrade just outside Dromore around 1966/67 when this twisty road was transformed into a fairly straight single carriageway. Over time further upgrades have seen the road improved to what it is today.

I still travel along the A1 frequently as I have family living in Banbridge.

There are some junctions which should cause concern for those who use this road and also for the Depatment of Infrastructure.

These are at Mackeys Lane/ Boals Lane just outside Dromore and the Graceystown Road junction near Banbridge.

Farmers who own land on both sides of the A1 take their lives in their hands when moving agriculture machinery from one part of their farm to the other, especially at these junctions.

Traffic travelling at 70mph has very little time to react to slow moving machinery. There is an underpass at Mackeys Lane but it is too low for tractors and trailers to use.

The purpose of this underpass was obviously to remove agriculture traffic from the A1 but why it was built too low to do so would be an interesting question for the department.

At harvest time the risk of accidents increase as tractor drivers cross the road.

You should continue to campaign for improvements to be made in order to safeguard those who use the A1 and those who have to live and work along it.

Mr J Hamilton, Newtownabbey